My own recommendation for fasting news has to do with the psychology of self-motivation. If you go for a period of time without listening to or reading the news, you will notice an increase in your optimism about life. You will feel an increase in energy.
“But shouldn’t I stay informed?” people ask me. “Aren’t I being a bad citizen if I don’t follow what’s going on in my community? Shouldn’t I watch the news?” To answer these questions, I offer an observation that may surprise you: The news isn’t news anymore.
Walter Cronkite used to end his show by saying, “And that’s the way it is.” And we believe he was right. But today, it’s much different. Shock value has the highest premium of all for a story, and the lines are now blurred between the evening news and the sleaziest tabloids. Tom Brokaw would probably lead his show with a story about a woman who cut off her husband’s private parts like The National Enquirer.
Today, the goal of the people who put together the evening news is to stimulate our emotions as much as possible. Every night we see human suffering. We also see con artists, and even entire corporations, getting away with scams that victimize people cruelly. If there is any reporting on politics, it features the most venomous attacks between two partisans.
The purpose of today’s news is stimulation. It is to take us on an emotional roller-coaster ride. It is “good” programming if we are angered by one story, saddened by another, and entertained by a third. Is it any wonder that by programming our minds with this grimy, scary information all day and night, we end up a little less motivated? Is it hard to understand a certain slippage in our optimism? Fast-tracking the news is a refreshing remedy for this problem. You can do it for one day a week, to start, and then go back to the tabloids the next day if you must. Once you start fasting, you will find your entire mood improves.
"But what about staying informed?" you ask. There are many ways to stay well informed. The Internet has some wonderful, thoughtful sites. In fact, it is far better to be intellectually informed than emotionally informed. There are weekly and monthly magazines and e-zines that do a great job of keeping us informed and giving us a calm, thoughtful, and comprehensive perspective on the news.
Don't worry about missing important news. Really big news, like wars, natural disasters, or assassinations, will catch up with you as quickly as you would if you were watching the news. Start experimenting with a news fast today. Do it for a short time at first, and then as long as your system allows. When you come back to the news, be fully aware of what the event is trying to tell you. Don't passively accept what you're seeing as "the way it is." It's not. They're not going to tell you how many thousands of planes landed safely today.