Must read ALL the news

[eleneariel]

I heard a little NPR blurb advertising their morning news show ... "We'll catch you up on everything that happened while you were asleep!" It made me wonder when this idea started that we have some sort of an obligation to keep informed and appraised of so much. 

I like news. I like information. And I think it's good to be interested in more than just your local happenings - keeping an eye on national and international stories gives a sense of perspective.  But their innocent little promo made me realize that underneath my interest and enjoyment, I do feel like I'm "supposed" to keep up, and an underlying and subtle sense of panic if I don't.* I go to sleep listening to the BBC. I wake up to more international news. I check google reader and twitter and news sites throughout the day. Sometimes I listen to Deutsche Welle radio in the evening. I catch talk radio whenever I can, read newspapers, read magazines, read anything and everything interesting that I find online, read books on all kinds of subjects. If I can't do these things for whatever reason, I feel like I'm falling behind - like I have to catch up.

In conclusion, to myself: Self, it is good to be informed. But stop this senseless feeling of obligation.


*on the other hand, I feel panic about a lot of things, mostly variations on "must do ALL the things during my lifetime."

Comments

[jmcphers.livejournal.com]

Stick "Entertaining Ourselves to Death" in your queue of books to read. The author argues that what we think of as news is, in the form in which it is typically delivered, irrelevant entertainment. It's a little shocking but he has some good points and it balances the current culture's must-be-up-to-the-minute-informed-on-happenings-on-the-other-side-of-the-world perspective.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Is it anything like Amusing Ourselves to Death? Even though that one was written, gosh, over 20 years ago, it had so much of relevance.