Why you should not read the news all day and how to wean yourself from this bad habit

News has been occupying a huge part of our lives lately. It seems that if you stop reading the news on the Internet for even half a day, you will miss something important. No wonder there are so many things happening that you need to know and remember. However, experts believe that reading the news is harmful and should at least reduce their number.



Back in 2013, The Guardian published an article that caused a lot of controversy. Just in it raised the theme that by refusing news, a person becomes happier. Editorial "Site" He explains the main points of this article and tries to figure out whether it is really worth reducing the amount of news consumed.

Read the news online Why is news harmful? The article gave the following reasons:

News usually focuses not on what is really important, but on what elicits an emotional response. Facts are often manipulated. This gives us the wrong picture of the world and the risks. We overestimate the dangers of terrorism, but we underestimate chronic stress. And so with a lot of things.



Of the 10,000 news articles you’ve read in a year, name one that really influenced your decisions. Continuous consumption of news is irrelevant. It’s really hard for us to know what’s really important. It's much easier to know what's new.

The news does not explain or help to understand. Does the accumulation of facts help to understand the world? Unfortunately, no. In fact, the more facts you learn from the news, the worse you will understand the big picture.



Reading news on the Internet - harm the body Reading news notes activates the limbic system. Scary and disturbing stories provoke the release of cortisol. The body is in chronic stress. This can cause problems with digestion and other body systems.



News feeds a major cognitive bias: bias. We try to interpret any news so that it does not conflict with what we believe. Because of this, we lose the ability to assess what is happening.

It is worth saying that news slows down thinking. Thinking requires concentration, which in turn takes time. News is designed to interrupt this process. They steal our attention and our ability to think deeper. Because of this, we are subject to superficial judgment. And the news is really bad for your memory. We also lose the ability to absorb large amounts of information easily. Naturally, it becomes easier for us to read the news fluently than to delve into a big book.



Most news stories are about things we can't influence. Because of this, it seems that nothing depends on us, which means that we do not need to do anything. That’s why we think we’re “little people” and don’t do anything. Of course, such passivity is beneficial to those in power, but it is harmful to a healthy society as a whole.



In general, we agree with the statements that are filed in the article. After all, reading the news is an activity that takes a lot of time and gives nothing in return. Of course, in a war it is difficult to completely abandon the news. I want to be aware of what’s going on, and that’s right. But you need to control their consumption in order not to drown in this flow. Limit the time you set aside to read the news.

First of all, you need to take care of your psyche. And also to develop critical thinking, to read more books, to make a sound assessment of the information that is presented to us. This way we can protect ourselves from attempts to manipulate our minds and not take any lies at face value.

What do you think about that?