sepyburNov 19, 2019
meghnad 

I'm slowly starting to process the fact that not everyone reads the news.

Instagram and TikTok is proving again and again that people prefer to not look at the ugliness in the world and just keep away from it all.

Maybe it's escapism, maybe it's self-preservation. I'm also changing my opinion about how, "Everyone needs to be updated about the latest news stuff."

They really don't. Fuck it. Live in your little bubbles & be happy.

Nov 19, 2019 at 4:27amWeb
Show threadmeghnad Nov 19, 2019

It's been a decade since I actively started following worldly affairs.

It has made me more aware and wiser, my career depends on it now, but I know there are wayyy more people who didn't do that.

They chose to keep away. From reading newspapers. From visiting news websites. Or news channels too.

I'm now starting to understand why and I respect their decision. I've stopped judging them for their choices, tbh.

Show threadShashank Mohan Nov 19, 2019

@Memeghnad I need to be updated due to the kind of jobs I've had. I used to equate it with social capital. But no longer. Often reading the news gives me an anxiety attack and I slowly enter an existential crisis. But, the quality of news has also dropped so much. Mis/disinformation is very discouraging.

Well, as you're saying, probably living in your bubble isn't that bad after all.

Show threadBoondiNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad I was someone who was an avid news reader and someone who had 100s of google alerts set up to follow news . However , in the last couple of years I’ve stopped consuming news daily because it makes me angry and sad , more angry than sad . So for peace of mind and mental health , I’ve chosen to not follow news channels . I live in my bubble with a few trusted sites
Show threadAyushNov 19, 2019
On this very note, I need some advice @Memeghnad , Parliament, current, global affairs, you name it and I have knowledge about it all, But now just few months after my graduation, I am at crossroads. Dont know how to channelize these peculiar interests of mine into a meaningful career as you have. Please reply for Constitution's sake ;)
Show threadmeghnad Nov 19, 2019

@AyJ Dude, I'm really bad at giving advice. Haha!

Whatever I'm doing right now is a result of just going with the flow, embracing the chaos and working towards educating people about whatever I'm seeing.

I can write decently, so that's a definite bonus! So the only piece of advice I can give you is to learn how to write well. Practice it. Hone that skill and use it whenever possible.

Show threadAyushNov 19, 2019

@Memeghnad noted!
And FYI I've been doing the exact same thing( policy & writing) for past few months, infact My LinkedIn Profile(ayj7) has never been that alluring xD.

But I'll keep the wheel moving and hone my skills. (for a better performance than the one of my local MP) #SansadWatch ✌️

Show threadVimoh Live 🎙️Nov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad I will be the first to admit that I can no longer process all of it. Facebook's "news" cycle was actively taking up sixty percent of my week a couple of years ago. Now I start getting anxious when someone sends me an FB link. Leaving it has caused productivity to shoot up.
Show threadmeghnad Nov 19, 2019
@vimoh I feel you. My small Twitter for work only schedule has also shot up my productivity. I was able to do three stories last week! So happy. :D
Show threadResearch MyopiaNov 19, 2019
@vimoh @Memeghnad Facebook's News Feed is criminal in the psychological ways they manipulate you to come back again and again.
Show threadesoteric_guyNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad Even many of those who do read, read just headlines and believe whatever the headline suggests. Very few actually care about the society to go even 1 layer deeper. Let us not even get to Non fiction book or research paper audience. They are almost non existent. Personally i have now consciously reduced reading op-eds and focus more on reading quality and fact based research, listening to podcasts and watching conferences lectures.
Show threadmeghnad Nov 19, 2019
@ninad That's a good strategy. I'm also reducing my op-ed writing massively. I want to focus on bringing out researched pieces (with some opinion mixed in).
Show threadesoteric_guyNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad No you dont reduce writing!!  
Your op-eds too are well researched.
I read op-eds only from newslaundry, the print and swarajya to be in touch with sane voices from both sides of the spectrum.
Show threadPradeep | പ്രദീപ്Nov 19, 2019

@Memeghnad I actually narrowed focus on what news I consume. I read the news update from Competition Success. It succinctly summarises the important events of the month.

Not everyone needs to know the news on a daily basis. If there is an important hot news Mastodon or birdsite pushes it up for me.

Show threadShubh Zi 🏳️Nov 19, 2019

@Memeghnad There is so much contradiction, fake info, so many spins to the same news going around. Even with the publications we choose to depend on, the reliability has consistently gone down.
I went from reading multiple views on a particular incident/report from different reporters to now browsing through related headlines before deciding which ones to pursue.
Referencing/reading contextual information has become a luxury. An-incident-a-day is too much to keep up with

Time isn't abundant!!

Show threadChandrima DasNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad Not reading the news all the time is also an attempt to live into our individual realities, not just the collective ones.
No individual who is constantly connected to the collective (whether it's nation, religion, fate of humanity, etc.) can grow and learn in their individual capacity. A little disconnection allows quirkiness, originality.
It also helps to not have live in anxiety 24/7. No useful contribution can come from that state of mind.
Show threadSandip Bhattacharya ☮️Nov 19, 2019

@hackiechan Really well said. Completely agree.

Mentally speaking, I have always felt that I only get a sense of passing time in my real world, not the online world.

So when I spend more time online or on my mobile, I feel time in my real life is passing by too quickly, and gives a very disorienting and disconnected feeling in my day to day life.

@Memeghnad

Show threadSai VishalNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad It is all chemistry. People keep going to places where they feel they are getting more dopamine from. Limbic resonance
Show threadTarique Sani Nov 19, 2019

@Memeghnad Till very recently the only news you got was your local newspaper. People were happy with that and then we had those who did not read the papers... 🤷🏻‍♂️

We were systematically made to get addicted to information.

Show threadResearch MyopiaNov 19, 2019
@tariquesani @Memeghnad Then news channel came along and basically turned the whole information balance upside down!
Show threadsepyburNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad also makes you think how liberals can use tiktok etc which has better penetration to put a message across.
Show threadIndraneel MajumdarNov 19, 2019
@Memeghnad oh, no one in my family reads news except me. So, I stopped.