Do I have to keep up with the news?

[Br O N Y Kitty 107]

Okay, I just say right off the bat, I didn't follow the Donald Trump inauguration today, because I'am just not super interested in it, I'am also one of the few people who barely checks the news and doesn't read any newspapers. And I feel like that's one of the most embarressing things to admit, people who aren't informed about the news kinda seem to be looked down on.

But it just takes up a lot of brain power that I could use for something else and therefore contribute to society, the news are just distracting and mostly contain information that's useless to me. I think that you should in general focus on only a few things and don't scatter your brain power over a lot of different areas, because then you won't acchive anything in any of them, you wouldn't believe how little I know about ceraint areas. Therefor I just think it's stupid to expect everyone to be informed about the news.

But what do you think, is it okay to just ignore the news or should everyone know what's going on in the world?

[BlueStreak98 828]

I think if you're going to vote, or participate in the democratic process in some manner, you have some duty as an American citizen to keep up with what's going on in the world around you. 

[Yellow Diamond 7,574]

, I just want to let you know that I've moved your thread to General Discussion. This topic isn't particularly controversial, and your bound to get more responses here than in the Debate Pit.

 

Carry on!

[stripper 252]

The news is just a form of entertainment. Why waste time learning about things that usually don't affect you?

[Celtore 2,770]

Yes and no. With global and certainly national and local politics, you should be paying attention. Local and national politics has an affect on you, whether you realize it immediately at the time or perhaps a few years down the road. Globalization makes the former also kind of important to have a general idea about. Entertainment "news" can go right into the garbage though, just like the waste of time it is.

 

What might be useful for you actually is an RSS feed reader. You can use it to follow certain news sites and it will automatically update itself every so often with the latest headlines from a selected set of sections. Even if you just quickly glance down the headlines and not actually read the stories, that's still better than being entirely unaware.

[Twiggy 2,966]

It's rather important to keep up with what's going on in the world.

 

Don't just watch the news on the TV though. Fox, CNN, and MSNBC only seem to report on opinions nowadays, rather than objective news. If you want a real idea of what's going on, find a few different sources on a subject, both conservative and liberal, and then make up your mind after hearing at least two different views.

[Dreambiscuit 9,972]

I never watch the news and haven't for many, many years. It's way too depressing and, since there's little I can do but be depressed, I ignore it. No point being made unhappy so I can be aware of something that has little bearing on my own life. Since I stopped watching I became much happier. The universe is full of things I'll never be aware of, and to obsess over cramming all that info into my brain is pointless. Keep it streamlined I always say. If there's something big in the news, it'll filter down to you by word of mouth anyway. That's how I get my news. It's better than listening to the skewed version of the facts presented by most news organizations anyway. 

[Hazard Time 1,127]

There's nothing wrong with NOT watching the news.  Having said that, if you choose not to keep yourself informed of modern social issues, then I would urge you not to vote.  In the absence of any sort of information, it is impossible to make an informed decision and the only thing you have to go on is someone else's word.  Bandwagoning is a huge threat to democracy, and it's important that the votes you cast come from a position of informed opinion rather than to satisfy the will of a celebrity or demagogue.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Hazard Time

[Br O N Y Kitty 107]

 

 

There's nothing wrong with NOT watching the news.  Having said that, if you choose not to keep yourself informed of modern social issues, then I would urge you not to vote.

 

I think you're absolutely right there, if someone isn't informed, they shouldn't vote, that's why I actually followed the news during the election in the tiny country I live called Austria. But then about 90% of people shoudln't vote, for instance here in Austria there was a candidate called Norber Hofer,  he's a pretty right wing person, just a really shitty person in general, but he got 47% of the votes, I mean he lost, but still, 47%! And I think literally half of his voters said that they voted him because he looks likable, he basically just smiled all the time like a psychopath and he even said once that he had a speech course where he basically learned how to manipulate people into liking him >_<

The 47% was the second election, because first he got 49%, and because of that his voters got upset and made up the most stupid theories about why he lost, for instance they said that since more people voted then last time, there are 130% voter and not 100%, and because of that he actually has over 50%, while completely dismissing the fact that that the other candidate would still have more votes of course. And then Hofer managed to get a reelection where he got the 47%.

But I think I would not have voted if I were a US citizen, since I don't think I know enough about these candidates, they both just seemed horrendous to me.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,347]

I think it should be every individual's decision. Still, I don't think you should vote if you aren't informed of the issues, but it's easy to find exactly what you need to know online these days. But normal, every day news? I don't see a problem with not keeping up with it: news is depressing, stressful, and frustrating.

[cmarston1 5,959]

You should at least pay attention to local and national news as it can and will indirectly and directly affect you.

Plus if you want to vote, you really should keep up to date with at least some vote in order for you to make an informed decision on who you believe is the candidate you want to support.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,662]

Unless there is something drastic going on that everyone should pay attention to, I say avoid the news like a plague. At the very least, avoid news channels. Pretty much all of these will twist things around and make things as dramatic as possible to lure people in. they also specialize in pointless drama and political bias.

 

I only news I check is what Bing might be showing and that depends on the subject.

[Corgis 574]

I don't follow it much either but it is a good idea to keep up with it for a few reasons.  First of all it can be interesting and even though all news looks like garbage about Trump (I live in Canada and still half of the reports are about Trump) right now some of it can be interesting and positive.  The news can also be a good thing to talk about with people you don't know very well since most people follow it to some extent.

[Kings&Hooves14 616]

You don't have to do anything you don't want to. There is no law stating that you must stay informed of world events (not in my country, anyway).

 

Generally, I avoid the news (though I occasionally take a look due to anxiety-driven compulsion ). 

 

Some may say that it's a citizen's duty to keep up with news, but I disagree.

I'm a poor, disabled pleb with absolutely no influence; whatever happens, happens. If I'm going to end up dead, homeless, severely injured, or imprisoned, why spend whatever time I have left worrying?

 

You probably shouldn't listen to me, though...don't want to be responsible for something nasty happening to you!

[ChocolateCrane 156]

You shouldn't feel an obligation to be caught up with political happenings often detailed by news stations. However, I would suggest watching the news for a few minutes at least once a day in order to keep yourself informed on any potential terrorist activity, etc (i.e. stuff that could get you killed if you aren't aware). Of course, if you frequent social media sites (which I personally don't even touch with a 10 ft. pole) the need to watch televised news for my aforementioned reasons becomes significantly less important.

 

The only times i would suggest you educate yourself on matters relegated to political events you will see on news stations, is if you intend to vote someone into office or are actively trying to push your own political agenda. Otherwise, it isn't really all that necessary, if you ask me. 

[Olsen1987 133]

nah, only if you want some entertainment, poor stuff, but still more entertaining than most news.

news in general always seems the same, murder, war, rape, sports, Kardashians, politics.

most interesting news is about upcoming movies and games and music.

[Whirlwind 1,059]

I've been an active follower on Breitbart News for about 5 months now.

Some is politics and some is sports and general news.

Though the place where I go for political news that isn't propaganda is Brietbart

Edited January 31, 2017 by Captain Whirlwind

[Invincible 2,091]

Nobody will execute you for not following the news. You're, however, at a disadvantage. Because what happens out there affects your life in various ways, even indirectly and sometimes in ways you can't fathom.

 

Now, mainstream media can also be a potential source for information, but you should always take everything with a grain of salt as news outlets serve their own agenda. If you're interested in a piece of information, you should always check your sources.

[SONICchaos 824]

I see no downside about keeping up with local news but when you start trying to follow political or foreign news you do have to be very selective about your news sources. Its hard these days to find a true neutral news source as most will have some leaning toward a political agenda which will color what is and is not reported. Try to take those kind of news with a grain of salt. While most of the reported news is most likely accurate its easy to believe everything you hear from the source which leads you to start forming a one sided political opinion. Both sides matter.

 

Local news typically doesnt have that problem as they have a very small demographic they are hitting and will typically not even get into political subjects. They will mostly just report on events like fires, robberies and such.

[EpicEnergy 23,222]

I keep up with the news sometimes, but sometimes I don't because the news tends to be stressful.

[Splashee 28,566]

Oh, I never keep up with the news. But in the current 2020 "COVID-19" situation, it is good to be aware what is going on in the world, for my own safety.

[Stone Cold Steve Jobs 22,441]

What others call news I call Yellow Journalism.

[Clawdeen 15,073]

I never watch the news. If something big happens I’ll hear it from somebody. 

[ExplosionMare 18,071]

Keeping up with huge events is important but it's not necessary to follow the news every day

[Splashee 28,566]

I would follow the news if something major is about to happen to me. Otherwise, I focus on my own stuff.