It is indeed Valentines Day. It is also Ash Wednesday. One thing I'm giving up is consuming news via the internet (or TV). I actually started not reading news websites about a week or so ago. This wasn't easy because that's usually one of the first things I check in the mornings. I would return to news sites or apps throughout the day, often out of routine when I had a spare minute or two in the busyness of the day.
I have found giving up internet news liberating. I think my blood pressure has improved. I know that I may be missing out on some important current events but the big stories usually still come to me one way or another. It's amazing to discover how little many of the stories on cnn or fox or wherever really have very little bearing on your every day life. You can get by without knowing about every little political squabble in Washington or your state capital.
Sure, I want to be an informed citizen but our major news sites lead with fear and loathing. If it bleeds it leads. It's the same type of news popular in the late 19th century that led to the Spanish-American War. News is a business, a product to sell. Therefore it is made as lurid as possible to attract consumers. True journalism is hard to find these days. Honestly this is not a new development. Yellow Journalism has been around for over a century.
So, I'm dis-engaging from the drama. I still go online. And I will occasionally peruse my local paper online (The Dallas Morning News) because they usually present the news a bit more soberly than the national sites. I'll keep up here and there but I will no longer engage with the fear mongering news complex.
