{"id":551,"date":"2024-01-15T14:20:21","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wavesrollinmythoughts.com\/?p=551"},"modified":"2024-01-15T14:21:53","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T14:21:53","slug":"my-news-blackout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wavesrollinmythoughts.com\/?p=551","title":{"rendered":"My News Blackout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“I don’t read the news anymore.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“So, you’re oblivious as to what I’m talking about? Have you been living under a rock?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Yes.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I was at my sister’s house yesterday, celebrating my niece’s ninth birthday, and sipping<\/s> gulping red wine when my mom asked, “What do you think about . . . ?” The blank stare on my face broadcasted my ignorance. She persisted, “Didn’t you read that [a politician did something newsworthy<\/em>]?” I responded, “I did not see that story. I do not read the news.” Crickets. Mom must’ve thought, “Who are you?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the pandemic, I loved following politics and reading the news every day. I was proud of my ability to banter about the most recent headlines. I thought, “Aren’t I swell? I make sarcastic [what I thought were] witty remarks about Mitch McConnell, Congressional deadlock, and other doom & gloom topics.” But sometime after the pandemic, my perspective changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mental chatter ramped up as a result of fears concerning the coronavirus combined with 45’s consistent attempts to jam the Constitution through a paper shredder. My rumination and anxiety were at a new apex when I read an article extolling the benefits of a no-news lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kicking the habit of ingesting copious amounts of news was not easy. I worried I’d have nothing to add to conversations with friends and family. “If I don’t read the news every day, how the hell will I know if extraterrestrials invade Iowa or Musk moves to Mars?!” My fears were baseless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still obtain critical information about the world. I am calmer. And while my mental chatter persists, the content is often less intense. I replaced thoughts about polls and pols with reflections directed inward. I think I smile more, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Have you been living under a rock?” “Yes.” I was at my sister’s house yesterday, celebrating my niece’s ninth birthday, and sipping gulping red wine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMy News Blackout — Waves Roll In My Thoughts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wavesrollinmythoughts.com\/?p=551\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My News Blackout — Waves Roll In My Thoughts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"“I don’t read the news anymore.” “So, you’re oblivious as to what I’m talking about? 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