Why I Stopped Watching the News and How It Made Life Calmer

"No News Is Good News: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World"

Just a picture to give you a little sense of calm. Photo by Nadine Marfurt.

The Impact of News on Our Lives

Last night, I watched the movie Woman of the Hour, starring and directed by Anna Kendrick. It tells the story of a serial killer based on true events. I chose to watch it because Mary Beth was on the phone. She avoids intense movies since they make her a bit anxious.

Surprisingly, the film affected me too. Normally, I can handle this genre without a hitch. To make matters worse, we then turned on the news to catch up on the day’s political events. While the news wasn’t horrific, the combination of the movie and the news left me feeling unsettled.

As we do every night, we wrapped up our bedtime TV ritual with an episode of Friends. Sometimes we only watch halfway, but other nights we enjoy the full episode. This routine helps Mary Beth (more than me) calm her mind. Last night, it helped me too.

My Relationship with News

Last night’s experience was unusual for me.

I realized I hardly watch the news anymore. It's been about ten years since I made a conscious effort to cut back. I used to tune in every night, and my social media feeds were filled with news stories. You probably know how social media algorithms work, they feed you what you engage with. The more you watch something, the more it appears. Your brain operates similarly, but that’s a topic for another time.

Now, if a major event occurs, I usually hear about it from Mary Beth or our kids, not through social media or TV. I’ve even set my social media feeds to exclude news entirely.

Here’s how successful I was in eliminating news from my social media: I received ZERO notifications when Queen Elizabeth passed away a few years ago. The only way I found out was through my family. I also only got one notification about the winner of the last presidential election.

Today, political news seeps into business and entertainment posts. As a result, I’ve had to unsubscribe from various outlets to reduce the negativity that news brings.

The Weight of Bad News

For me, news, whether political or local, is often 95% bad or anxiety-inducing. I strive daily to eliminate these sources from my life.

For instance, I subscribe to the Wall Street Journal, hoping to read about business news. However, 90% of their front-page articles have political headlines. Earlier this year, I unsubscribed from several other business publications for the same reason. I re-signed up for WSJ because there were articles I genuinely wanted to read.

Instead of consuming news that seems to consume me, I focus on what uplifts me.

Some might say I live in a bubble. But I prefer to eliminate negativity that comes from watching, listening to, or reading the news.

By choosing to eliminate negativity, I create space for positive thoughts.

The Neuroscience of Filtering Information

Lately, I’ve been diving into neuroscience. One fascinating topic is how our brains filter what we want to see, much like social media algorithms. Did you know your brain processes 11 billion (yes, with a B) bits of information every second? Yet, you only consciously process about 40 bits per second.

Think about that. It’s such a small number that my phone calculator struggled to display it. When I divided 40 by 11 billion, I got .0000000036. That’s an incredibly tiny fraction of what our brains process.

Consider when you’re driving. You focus on the road and maybe the car in front of you. But what about the hundreds of trees whizzing by or the clouds overhead? Your brain filters them out.

By choosing what we allow into our minds, we can create more space to elevate our sensory experiences.

Embracing Positivity

So, why not filter out the news and opt for a good comedy instead?

You might feel better as a result. I know I do. 😊

Cover photo by Cole Keister.