A year without news (and counting)
At the beginning of 2025, I stopped reading, watching, or listening to the news. I stopped reading even the titles on the home pages of major newspapers and social media (I don’t have those). I had had enough. At that time, it was 3 years of russia’s war in Ukraine, and I reached my limit of worry. I could no longer bear another block of it on my shoulders; I could crumble under the weight of it. And I could not afford it - I have people in my life who depend on me. Depend on me being a functional and happy adult regardless of what kind of shit happens in the world.
When russia started the war in Ukraine, for the first many months, there was constant and intense worry about people there - family, friends, strangers, fighters, and children. Especially children, no child deserves such a childhood. It was a surreal feeling - I kept going to the office, working, having meetings, coffee breaks, and brainstorming sessions, yet simultaneously thinking about people in Ukraine and all the horrible things that were happening there.
There was also guilt of being here, in “safe” Europe, in warm homes and offices, experiencing spring and sunshine, observing people living their peaceful lives. And after some time, there was hopelessness. Feeling I should not have - we, Ukrainians, could not afford it. I should be strong and hopeful, but I was not. I think about war as the most cruel business, and someone profits from it. Someone profits from killing innocent souls.
Then the Israel-Hamas war started. And more people were suffering. I could no longer take it. But before anyone jumps to any conclusions and judgments, let me tell you why consuming news is a waste of our finite time.
Funny enough, I graduated from the Institute of Journalism in Kyiv, Ukraine. Most of the kids who study there have aspirations about freedom of speech, justice, and bringing public focus on corrupt politics in Ukraine. All is fine until you start working and understanding the business model of any media, which is pretty much the same as social media: the more people read news, the easier it is for the newspaper to attract advertisers. Yes, you get some good pieces of information from time to time, but it’s a needle in a haystack. From this perspective, there’s no difference between reading news and gambling.
The other problem with reading news is answering the question: How exactly does this information impact our lives? Most of the news is about something bad happened or is about to happen. After reading them, we start the cycle of worrying. We focus our energy and time on external things that are beyond our control. If we focus on this, then we miss aspects of our life where we have much greater control: our day-to-day life, relationships with family and friends, our wellbeing, health, happiness, work, hobbies, and purpose in life. How else does it impact us? Well, now we have something to talk about during lunch with colleagues, but that’s pretty much it.
The fact that I don’t read the news doesn’t mean, however, that I don’t know what’s going on in the world. I don’t live in a vacuum. There are other people who talk about the news. I also go to the supermarket, and sometimes I glance at the newspaper stand. I know what’s going on at a high level, just enough for me.
Another question worth answering is: Does not reading the news make us irresponsible citizens? It’s up to us. Basically, news is information. But information without action is entertainment. If there’s a cause I care about and I think I can make a difference, instead of reading and talking, I can find an established and trustworthy organization and see how I can help. In most cases, it’s donating my money or time. If I act, I can make a difference (no matter how small) and have some control of the situation, not just the illusion of it.
I haven’t read the news for a year and am not planning to start. Instead, I’m more selective now about what I feed my brain, where my attention and energy goes and how I use my finite time. I use it to read books and a few blogs, listen to interviews, write my own blog or in my journal, message and talk with my friends, think, have ”white space” in my mind and schedule, spend time with my favorite people, or even watch a good movie.
When we stop being consumers of news, we worry less. And instead of FOMO (that we might occasionally have), we free up our minds to experience JOMO, the joy of missing out, and we finally have energy to live our lives.