News Health: Stockholm Syndrome

Happy Sunday,

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs 4:23

The News is Less Useful (So Consume Less of It)

Technology today has enabled the majority of the planet to freely and instantly communicate with one another, and it has caused an explosion of almost every type of news.

It is now possible to spend your entire day listening to podcasts at 2x speed while watching two different news channels, scrolling social media, and barely scratching the surface of that day’s news. Multiple resources that provide daily pickleball news. There is endless business news (if that’s too broad, try tech news; if that’s still too broad, try AI news).

The only news that’s harder to find today than 50 years ago is local news. Since 2005, over one-third of all local newspapers have closed, creating “news deserts” where there is limited or no news coverage of an area. Maybe there will be a local news revolution, but personally, I’m skeptical; I, at least, am much less interested in opening a paper about what happened in eastern Iowa yesterday than I am in hearing about the most interesting thing happening anywhere on the planet right now. 

This switch from local to international has made the news more engaging but less useful. The news used to inform people about things that impacted them or that they could impact. Now—with very rare exceptions—the only personal impact it has is on my mood (and it provides conversation topics.)

If that’s the case—if it really is just less useful—then we need to consume it less.

So, here’s my challenge for you: give an honest assessment of what the news is doing to your mood and conversations. If the news primarily makes you angry, anxious, depressed, rude, harsh, or judgmental… then you have an unhealthy relationship with the news and should consume less of it. (And if that upsets you, then Stockholm Syndrome has probably set in.)

This was a hard pill for me to swallow, but it was medicine worth taking. 

What do you think?

Jason

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Recommended: I frequently advocate for simply spending more time with Jesus, focusing on quantity time (quality will follow). One way I do that is with Dwell*, the best audio Bible app I've found.

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