It's actually more sad than funny, but I get it.
Protecting our minds in a bad news world
- Thread starter bobcat
- Start date
True you are absolutely right.
I watched the video again, so sad if people really do those things.
They could cause themselves long term damage.
RambleTamble
Senior Member
- Location
- U.S.
It's always the same... one bad news story after another.
Here's the ABC World News lineup from this evening...
Here's the ABC World News lineup from this evening...
- Wildfires force evacuations, destroy homes in Georgia and Florida
- Red flag (critical fire weather conditions) warnings across the High Plains and Southwest
- Iranian state TV airs video of masked gunmen boarding ship near Strait of Hormuz
- Chemical leak in West Virginia kills at least 2, more than two dozen needing medical treatment
- Home explosions just hours apart leave Texas community on edge
- Urgent search underway for crew of U.S. cargo ship that overturned in typhoon
- Airline cuts 20,000 flights due to jet fuel shortage from Iran war
- Dave Mason, founding member of Traffic, dead at 79
- America Strong: Smithsonian's National Zoo debuts baby elephant on Earth Day
Messy
Senior Member
Yesterday I looked at the online Newspaper. Trump prevented the execution of 8 Iranian women.
Messy
Senior Member
My dad always watched the News and read the Newspaper, also online and then he'd have some horrific story he read and told us and my mom said: sssh don't be so negative LOL.
My uncle, her brother. They interviewed him for tv, asking him which party he was gonna vote for. The Dutch reformed party. Why? Because my wife says it's good. He had no clue and he did not care and he was always happy and the life of the party. Always joking. He had been in a concentration camp in the war.
My uncle, her brother. They interviewed him for tv, asking him which party he was gonna vote for. The Dutch reformed party. Why? Because my wife says it's good. He had no clue and he did not care and he was always happy and the life of the party. Always joking. He had been in a concentration camp in the war.
Information dissemination now can be a high-paying job. The more sensationalist the headline, the more reads it gets, the more money it makes. If it bleeds, it leads. I'm so done with it. One more headline with "(enter a number) ways to (whatever)" and I will scream. And different sources will change one or two items and say the same thing. And those women who do YT videos while they are putting on their makeup? Next, will it be someone using a toilet while filming?
Where's my soapbox?
Where's my soapbox?
I confess. A few months ago, I spent a LOT of time, sometimes all day, watching YT videos. Towards the end of the month, it was as if I woke up. Did I pay a certain bill? What about "this"? Did I do that? My brain was in a dense fog. I made a mistake on my tax return and had to file an amended return. It was stupid and it actually scared me. I backed off from screen time and guess what? Yeah, back in gear and getting it done.
No wonder our kids, our world is in such a mess. I learned my lesson.
No wonder our kids, our world is in such a mess. I learned my lesson.
bobcat
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northern Calif
Wow, I had no idea that was a thing. I can only hope that at some point in their youth they will realize that how a coffee cup looks on the outside isn't the real reason most people would want to keep drinking from it. Trying to look your best is one thing, but obsessing over it often indicates insecurities within that need to be addressed.One of the most salient posts I've seen recently in this forum.
I'll only add that those same bots and algorithms are damaging young people's lives by steering them toward content that can be self-destructive. An example is this craze called "Looksmaxing" for young guys who think their only chance at success is to be more handsome than someone else. Or teenage girls who want to be thinner and are guided to sites featuring anorexia.
We all need to unplug occasionally, plain and simple.
George1959
Well-known Member
The sad thing is that some (young) men think that they need 'looksmaxxing' to be attractive to women. The same with young women who think they need enlarged breasts and a narrow waist to be attractive to men.One of the most salient posts I've seen recently in this forum.
I'll only add that those same bots and algorithms are damaging young people's lives by steering them toward content that can be self-destructive. An example is this craze called "Looksmaxing" for young guys who think their only chance at success is to be more handsome than someone else. Or teenage girls who want to be thinner and are guided to sites featuring anorexia.
We all need to unplug occasionally, plain and simple.
Messy
Senior Member
I once watched a crime video on youtube. Real crime, a documentary. It was interesting, but then youtube is like: oh you liked this? Here are 200 more of these horrific stories. Go away. I just block it. Not interested.
Time Waits 4 No Man
Member
- Location
- At The Edge Of Time
This one hit home, Bobcat. I worked as a reporter in the news biz, as they started calling it, when the corporations bought out all the major news outlets. At first they seemed ok but they gradually started taking too much control over our stories. After a while too many good editors and reporters left and I ending up leaving too.
Eventually the major outlets were actually putting opinions inside news stories and slanting the stories, which had been verboten. Then came the internet and I started reading an alternative news outlet online and eventually lost that one so switched to alternative YouTube channels. The two I watched did and do opinions on both sides but at least they try to give both sides.
I still watch the BBC news as I think it's better than the major US outlets. I also read the local news. One of the US alternatives got bought out and the anchors started their own channel, which is pretty good. But none of it is as it used to be, at least for me. A lot of alternatives are also one sided opinion shows and there are alternatives to YouTube but I'm fine with what I'm watching for now. I try to watch less news too but often fail as there is so much going on that's important right now.
Eventually the major outlets were actually putting opinions inside news stories and slanting the stories, which had been verboten. Then came the internet and I started reading an alternative news outlet online and eventually lost that one so switched to alternative YouTube channels. The two I watched did and do opinions on both sides but at least they try to give both sides.
I still watch the BBC news as I think it's better than the major US outlets. I also read the local news. One of the US alternatives got bought out and the anchors started their own channel, which is pretty good. But none of it is as it used to be, at least for me. A lot of alternatives are also one sided opinion shows and there are alternatives to YouTube but I'm fine with what I'm watching for now. I try to watch less news too but often fail as there is so much going on that's important right now.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Odd how they missed the ecological disaster unfolding in Russia right now after Ukraine hit an oil processing plant. I guess there wasn't enough time to cover ALL the bad news.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
squatting dog
Remember when... thirty seemed so old.
- Location
- For now, just Florida
Just a modern version of the old newspaper days... "If it Bleeds, it Reads".
Sunkist
Senior Member
I never heard that one.. just what Andy Rooney said years ago, too many people prefer sensationalism.
Important to whom? I have now adopted the attitude that there is nothing I can do about any of it so why bother.
Babs2u
Senior Member
I employ a particular mindset (for the most part).
I, like most here, am toward the end of my life. If ever there was a time to be selfish then it's now. As such, I concern myself mostly with what affects me personally.
I am no longer tethered to profit and loss, costs, share prices, and projections. I am just me.
The problem as I see it is, people are gravitating - perhaps naturally - toward sources that agree with them. This, in fact, was the problem all along. You end up in an information silo, where what you see are things you agree with, be it an idea, some hate, some faith. We stop learning, and look for enforcement.
One of the biggest lies is the so called "alternative media". Let me tell you, there is NO alternative media. Every single media outlet, big and small, is controlled through the same mechanisms and demands. I wish people would wake up themselves before they tell others to wake up. But then, perhaps I'm just dreaming.
I am quilty of gravitating toward sources I( agree with but with good reason. I feel I have done my homework by reading and conversing with smart people I trust and asking lots of questions and observing and remembering. The news sites I prefer are small and independent.
For me, everything that happens in the world is important in my daily life. It is clearly affecting the price of almost everything these days, so I choose to stay informed. As to what you can do about it, you can vote!
Babs2u
Senior Member
I remember "If it bleeds, It leads."
As far as I’m concerned I want to know what all is out there that can kill me.
I then compartmentalize that information into things that I can react to and things that I can’t do anything about if it happens.
A Chinese EV battery factory was built maybe 20 miles away and in the direction of our prevailing wind.
Right now I am trying to find out how and when we will be informed if there is an explosion and fire in that factory.
I also want to know about what evacuation plans we should know about.
Are there any other precautions we should take like having a life saving breathing apparatus handy.
Yes it is a scary world these days and a person might not be able to do anything about a lot of the dangers but maybe we should learn about some of the others and be prepared for emergencies.
I then compartmentalize that information into things that I can react to and things that I can’t do anything about if it happens.
A Chinese EV battery factory was built maybe 20 miles away and in the direction of our prevailing wind.
Right now I am trying to find out how and when we will be informed if there is an explosion and fire in that factory.
I also want to know about what evacuation plans we should know about.
Are there any other precautions we should take like having a life saving breathing apparatus handy.
Yes it is a scary world these days and a person might not be able to do anything about a lot of the dangers but maybe we should learn about some of the others and be prepared for emergencies.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
I've noticed for years that forum members don't respond to good news threads in as many numbers as bad news. Yet we say we need to hear/read good news. There's an old Excedrin commercial that said "When something works...that's what you use." The news stations know they will attract more viewers when headlining bad news. I've mentioned this several times....besides loving David Muir, I love that World News Tonight always features a heartwarming, inspiring story at the end of each broadcast via their America Strong and Person(s) of the Week segments.
WNT and Good Morning America are the only news programs I watch. I get my other news by reading articles from various publications on my news apps. That way I can filter out whatever I don't want to know about or have already seen or read about. Several years ago, I decided I wasn't going to watch or read the news at all. That lasted about 2 weeks. I've got to know what's going on, even if sometimes it makes me sad, frustrated or angry.
WNT and Good Morning America are the only news programs I watch. I get my other news by reading articles from various publications on my news apps. That way I can filter out whatever I don't want to know about or have already seen or read about. Several years ago, I decided I wasn't going to watch or read the news at all. That lasted about 2 weeks. I've got to know what's going on, even if sometimes it makes me sad, frustrated or angry.
Messy
Senior Member
We have a tv program called Man bites dog.
This is a Belgian one. He says he can see who will be gullible. They really believed this.