Black-Out
Dear Readership of three:
I am back from vacation in the Adirondaks, and boy was it sweet. While I missed the hubby dearly, it was nice to be away from politics, newspapers, tv, and the jobby-job for almost a whole week. The serenity of the mountains and the insular nature of vacations got me thinking about our "information age" in general. Once I got back and was deluged by all the media, I really thought about how fantastic and rejuvinating it was not to hear about the world around me.
This is contrarian to my usual habits: I love to read the paper on Sunday mornings after Faith goes down for her morning nap, I skim the internet daily at work and read the major papers, and I like to catch the local 10:00pm news. However, I am rethinking my formula for happiness. Maybe all the news creates a low-level stress in my life. I get bothered/depressed when I read about nasty, personal, political attacks against Presidental candidates, I am saddened/heart-broken when I hear about somebody abandoning their hours-old baby in a parking lot in suburban MD, and I feel sick to my stomach when I read about a 3 year old choking to death on popcorn in movie theater. (How are those parents coping? To take a child to the movies is a treat and to have it end so horrible wrong!)
So for the first time, I'm pondering a serious withdrawal from media outlets. I think I'll start on a trial run for a week to see if it's doable (especially the not surfing newspapers while at work part) and see if I feel saner and happier at the end of the week. My rules for the week:
1) no television (except the Olympics)
2) no reading online or print newspapers
3) Reading magazines like National Geographic are OK
4) Reading novels is encouraged
So question to readers: How does the onslaught of news affect your life? Or does it?
Signing Off, EH
I am back from vacation in the Adirondaks, and boy was it sweet. While I missed the hubby dearly, it was nice to be away from politics, newspapers, tv, and the jobby-job for almost a whole week. The serenity of the mountains and the insular nature of vacations got me thinking about our "information age" in general. Once I got back and was deluged by all the media, I really thought about how fantastic and rejuvinating it was not to hear about the world around me.
This is contrarian to my usual habits: I love to read the paper on Sunday mornings after Faith goes down for her morning nap, I skim the internet daily at work and read the major papers, and I like to catch the local 10:00pm news. However, I am rethinking my formula for happiness. Maybe all the news creates a low-level stress in my life. I get bothered/depressed when I read about nasty, personal, political attacks against Presidental candidates, I am saddened/heart-broken when I hear about somebody abandoning their hours-old baby in a parking lot in suburban MD, and I feel sick to my stomach when I read about a 3 year old choking to death on popcorn in movie theater. (How are those parents coping? To take a child to the movies is a treat and to have it end so horrible wrong!)
So for the first time, I'm pondering a serious withdrawal from media outlets. I think I'll start on a trial run for a week to see if it's doable (especially the not surfing newspapers while at work part) and see if I feel saner and happier at the end of the week. My rules for the week:
1) no television (except the Olympics)
2) no reading online or print newspapers
3) Reading magazines like National Geographic are OK
4) Reading novels is encouraged
So question to readers: How does the onslaught of news affect your life? Or does it?
Signing Off, EH
2 Comments:
I had the same experience when I went home to New York City on vacation. I didn't have Internet access for five whole days, and it was great!
I think maybe it's just that having so many media choices-- newspapers vs. books vs. TV vs. Internet-- makes you feel overwhelmed, so it's good from time to time to stop paying attention to at least one of them for a little while.
Anyway, just you wait... I'm sure there's going to be a New York Times article any day now on "media fatigue," and then the phenomenon will get reported on and recycled through the morning talk shows and the Internet and the evening news and finally Jon Stewart will have something to say about it all.
Your friend,
Patience
you eh!
glad that you had such a relaxing vacation. the pics are great. as i am in korea, i don't really have the same feelings about all the media and such. it being in a foriegn language and all, a perfect excuse to let yourself forget about the world around you. but, i must say, i do miss it all at times. i feel like by the time i find anything out here, its old news. but i think your new course of action will be very rewarding for you and this should free up plenty of time for you to email your poor friend stuck half a world away. hint hint...
love ya,
jesso
Post a Comment
<< Home