Why I Don’t Watch The News
May 22nd, 2006, 9:00 pm by Priya Florence Shah
Filed under Attraction, Self-Awareness, Ecology, Happiness, Empathy, Healing, Law Of Attraction, Love, Self-Love, Stress-Relief, Wellness, Self-Improvement, Spirituality, Relationships, Attitude, Experiences, Self Help, My Life, Personal Growth, Thoughts
It’s rather unusual for a former journalist to admit that she hardly ever watches the news on TV and - except for the comics and astrology sections - chooses not to read the newspapers.
The reason I do that, is because I’m more aware of what makes the news, and know that, with few exceptions, its worth ignoring.
First, the news is not fact. It’s reporting. And no matter how unbiased the reporter may be, the news is based on their interpretation of the facts.
Second, the news is not balanced. Journalists have a definition for news that says, “Dog bites man is not news. Man bites dog is news.” In other words, good news is not news. Bad news is.
It’s the reason why the media is filled with stories of terror, rape, violence and war, and we hear precious little about the good stuff, the positive messages and the loving things that people do.
It’s one of the reasons I consciously chose to work with alternative media, non-profit organisations and environmental groups, than take up a well-paying job in MSM (mainstream media).
It’s not like alternative media doesn’t have it’s share of negative news. It has plenty… environmental degradation, pollution, child abuse, you name it. The difference is that “alternative” media focuses on alternatives to the problem, and on people who are making a difference in the world.
The best clue for the priority that human-interest stories get in the MSM, is where they get shoved in a publication - usually to a tiny column on the inside pages. The bad news and the gossip get frontpaged. I mean, does anyone really care where the Brangelina brat is born?
Imagine what this diet of negativity does to your mind when you continue to absorb these messages day after day. You begin to believe that the world is a crazy place, filled with people who do weird or bizzare things.
I believe that our thoughts create our reality. And you can either let the media control your mind or you can take back control of your own thoughts. So I chose to avoid exposing my mind to the mass media.
But lets go a step further and imagine if tomorrow we woke up to a world where the media did the exact opposite of what it usually does, sends negative news to the back of the bulletin and puts only positive news on the first page.
Imagine if the media completely ignored hate-mongers like Pravin Togadia and Osama Bin Laden. These bigots feed off publicity generated by the mass media to fan their campaign of hate. The mass media actually makes heros of hate-mongers!
If they lost the advantage of free publicity, they’d lose importance and there would be little incentive to continue their campaign. Without the mass media, terrorists would be out of a job!
I think its even more important to be selective of what you let your children watch. TV programming is not as benign as it seems. Over a period of time, it can begin to shape your thoughts and reality.
Children are impressionable, hence even more vulnerable to negative programmming. According to a study published the journal Science, adolescents who watch more than one hour of television a day are more likely to engage in violent or aggressive acts later in life.
Researchers suggest that, at least during early adolescence, responsible parents should avoid permitting their children to watch more than one hour of television a day.
I agree. Parent should supervise, and sometimes screen out what they believe are inappropriate or negative messages.
I personally don’t even expose my daughter to Bollwood movies or those despicable saas-bahu soaps. I don’t mind her getting her dose of Disney, commercial though it is, but violence is a definite no-no in our household.
Media segmentation and the internet are a good thing for people who want to avoid the negativity in mass media. At least they allow us to actively select the sort of messages they want to imbibe.
Whatever a person’s mind dwells on
intensely and with firm resolve,
that is exactly what he becomes.~ Shankaracharya ~
More reading:
Turning Bad News into Good News: A podcast by by motivational expert, Dr. Wayne Dyer
Excessive TV-Watching During Adolescence May Lead to Violent Behavior in Adulthood
Study Finds Smoking in Movies Tied to Adolescent Tobacco Use
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Soul Kadee: An Appetite for Life » Natural Born Empath: Deanna Troi In The Flesh said,
July 5th, 2006, 9:12 am
[…] I guess being an empath is what accounts for my acute sensitivity to negative thoughts, negative people, bad news, and even depression. But at least I know I’m not alone in feeling this way. As the article here notes: Empaths are sensitive to TV, videos, movies, news and broadcasts. Violence or emotional dramas depicting shocking scenes of physical or emotional pain inflicted on adults, children or animals can bring an empath easily to tears. At times, they may feel physically ill or choke back the tears. Some empaths will struggle to comprehend any such cruelty, and will have grave difficulty in expressing themselves in the face of another’s ignorance, closed-mindedness and obvious lack of compassion. They simply cannot justify the suffering they feel and see. […]