this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2025
223 points (98.3% liked)

Ask Lemmy

29819 readers
2709 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] KeenFlame@feddit.nu 9 points 6 days ago

Read news

Get involved

Have a really good revolution

Stop ignoring your whole body telling you to resist

To do something about it

[–] olafurp@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago

I stick to few sources that generally cover major without the doom and gloom. Generally YouTube channels are pretty good imo.

  • TLDR News (UK, EU and Global) is a great series of channels for that.

  • Caspian report on YouTube for some geopolitics/strategic outlook.

  • Real life lore for couple of deep dives on non-current issues.

  • Money and Macro for macro economic news.

  • Just have a think for climate science and energy transition news.

  • "Good news" is just nice feelgood news.

Traditional media for closely following elections when they come out such as exit polls.

For the Gaza issue I did break the cycle and check on Al Jazeera which is the best for middle East news.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 11 points 6 days ago

Slow news.

Seriously, you don't need to know all of this shit every day. I do a weekly catch up on Saturday and indont think I've ever missed anything important. If anything some times gives news to clear up.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth 2 points 4 days ago

I listen to my body, which includes my mind. I start feeling bad physically or mentally, I disconnect and do something else.

[–] ModernRisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 6 days ago

I actually had this issue months ago, I kept seeing everything on Instagram regarding a particular major problem. Seeing the deaths of innocents and the governments cheering it on just made me angry, moody, anxious and an immense hate towards humanity in general.

I was also jobless in these months (glad got work now) and that made it worse.

Eventually I heavily restricted myself;

  • Only 30 mins of scroll in Instagram, checking the news and such.
  • No talks about politics for at least a month.
  • Read more books to dive in.
  • Play fun games (Mario Wonder, Captain Toad Tracker, Mario kart and Catherine Full Body).

Got a job now but I still keep most of the things I restricted myself. Despite everything, I’m in a much better mindset than before.

[–] PickleYukumquat@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

I log out when I start feeling helpless and high anxiety and then I go find things that I can control to feel less helpless/anxious.

Few things that are in the news are actually newsworthy, it just appears to me to be a lot of noise and only a small part of it will actually happen. Especially in politics given the lard in the oval Office, most of the things he does is just trying to grab attention, stil dangerous but a filter is needed.

Basically my desire to be informed is in opposition to the need to remain sane.

[–] venotic@kbin.melroy.org 4 points 6 days ago

I have a stance where I prefer to be minimally informed than misinformed. I will intake what little information I want before I am overstimulated from the poor state of journalism. I'm sorry but I have to be one of those headline readers and if it's very, very intriguing enough to want to read it, I will. But I really can't be bothered to read a lot of what's out there. I read the comments and reactions which arguably, has proven to be far more knowledgeable than the article in question.

[–] moakley@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago

Oh shit. Drawing a line is a really good idea.

[–] GuyFawkes@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 days ago

Lemmy is my line. Have one account just for politics, and another with everything but - that way I can control my exposure.

[–] Fedditor385@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

You can read a list of news article titles and not go deep.

[–] xylogx@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I use an RSS reader to grab headlines from several sources. I read the headlines once in the morning and once in the evening. My goal is to know what is going on. As much as possible I try not to get too emotionally engaged during this process. I try to be informed without being outraged or depressed.

[–] ComicalMayhem@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Only issue with that is headlines don't always tell the truth or the whole story

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago

Really close to the stress. Checking out is giving up and it's a super weak move. Oh no you feel bad? People are losing their livelihoods. Their citizenships, their jobs. Buck up yo. We got shit to do.

[–] nthavoc@lemmy.today 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Sort what you know is predictable bs. For example, you know the bad actors are going to always say or do outrageous things for distraction. I use the uBlock Origin browser plugin with filters for “Trump” “Elon” “Maga” and most news sites have about 2 or 3 articles worth reading. Entries even get blanked on Lemmy. Instead of seeing “TRUMP, ELON, MAGA DO THIS!!!” You now see “Secretary of Defense halts Cybersecurity from offensive attacks on Russia” from a decent source. This narrows most news to either things that may affect you directly or helps you build a better informed opinion. Also, if you are in the US, take every opinion from the house of reps and the senate and throw it in the trash. Until they quit acting like children and begin negotiating like adults, they have absolutely nothing good to say. That’s a good chunk of the “news” right there. So when you see stuff like “REP INTRODUCES BILL TO …” just stop reading. If you care to look further look for the bill number and actually read it. Most of the time it’s really stupid crap tactics just to rile up the public. They have been doing that for well over a century. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

tl;dr: sort the troll news.

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org -2 points 6 days ago

I mostly read headlines but not articles. This is so that I can send emails to a family member who voted for this shit again. I throw in a one-liner that sarcastically alludes to the terrible story and a link with the headline in the subject. I'm super pissed that my mother voted for this asshole (again), so if the story is about dismantling the education dept, my comment would be: "Your grandkids go to a private school, so they're fine. Sucks to be a poor kid!"

Honestly, if I wasn't screaming at her (via email, not literally), I'd probably have to avoid altogether. But I believe it's necessary that she read about every possible terrible thing she invoked with her vote. Or, maybe more realistically, I'm just that mad at her even if she'll never change. Our relationship is likely over.

[–] 200ok@lemmy.world 61 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I wish there was a way to stay informed without the rage-bait delivery methods

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 1 points 4 days ago

Have an AI summarize it for you?

[–] Corngood@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Unfortunately we are in clown-world and the actual fucking news is rage-inducing, even with impeccable journalism.

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 1 points 4 days ago

I don’t feel rage when I watch the news, even when I see stories I don’t like.

[–] CptHacke@lemm.ee 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This video helped me A LOT: https://youtu.be/yxAd8Owl-7A

Reduce the amount of news and media you consume. It isn't healthy. Check in with your own mental health on a regular basis and use that as a barometer. When you start feeling overly stressed and frustrated, it's time to take a break.

[–] SendMePhotos@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

It's ok to be angry or upset but if you can't do anything about it, it's not worth it. You should remain informed and also know that if you're feeling frozen or at a loss, the plan is working. It's meant to keep you down, drown you, and cause you to desensitize or lose hope. Don't fall for it. Rise up in ways that you can.

https://youtu.be/By1Z1nk31iE

[–] SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyz 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

There is no line for me.

I'm incredibly fragile and seeing people ~~I care about~~ be hurt by all this hurts me incredibly much.

I'm now avoiding the news and doing my best to instead be a positive influence, help where I am able, offer support, donate what I can, etc.

I refuse to let evil fucking idiots steal my joy.

[–] knightmare1147@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago

You're a good person. Please take care of yourself today I want you around later when it's not crazy outside, okay?

[–] JadenSmith@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 days ago

Godspeed in your efforts! I am of the mindset that there is no benefit, whatsoever, to seeing an incredibly great majority of news. It's just so depressing most of the time.

Been talking to folks more and making more friends, which has been great. Seems like many people are of a similar mindset.

[–] dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I'm glad you keep your joy but if we lose your activity it's a huge detriment to everyone.

[–] YungOnions@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Shamelessly reposting this here, because it seems relevant:

Negative news has a greater impact on people than positive: https://assets.csom.umn.edu/assets/71516.pdf

Media sites know this, and use it to drive engagement:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/social-media-facebook-twitter-politics-b1870628.html

And so, negative headlines are getting worse: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0276367

But negative news is addictive and psychologically damaging: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/why-we-worry/202009/the-psychological-impact-negative-news

So it's important to try and stay positive:

https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/benefits-of-good-news

If you want a break from the constant negativity, here are some sites that report specifically on positive news:

And here's 35 more: https://news.feedspot.com/good_news_websites/

Some communities on Lemmy you might be interested in:

Remember, realistic optimism is important and, unlike what some might have you believe, is not the same as blissful ignorance or 'burying your head in the sand': https://www.learning-mind.com/realistic-optimism-blind-positivity/

https://www.centreforoptimism.com/realisticoptimism

And doesn't mean you must stay uninformed on current affairs: https://www.goodgoodgood.co/articles/how-to-stop-doom-scrolling

https://goodable.co/blog/tips-for-balancing-positive-and-negative-news/

[–] cb900f_bodhi@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 6 days ago

Wish I could upvote this comment much more than once

[–] Blaze@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago
[–] ocean@lemmy.selfhostcat.com 19 points 1 week ago (6 children)

Getting news via RSS feeds helps. I also cut out what is obvious just bad and getting worse for instance Gaza and Westbank via EI news. I know its getting worse but I cannot take hearing about every death.

Also, I think realizing most doesn't affect you individually is helpful.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] tyler@programming.dev 19 points 1 week ago

Here’s the thing I’ve discovered over the past two months. You can block every keyword you can think of involving politics and you will still be subject to them in memes that don’t happen to mention the keywords, comments where the blocking isn’t effective, and friends and spouses mentioning them, if not more. Politics pop up in every context. Video game YouTube, programming subjects on hacker news, pretty much every single subject at this point in time is inundated with politics.

For a long time I was the most informed person in my social circle. I can’t deal with it anymore. I blocked every mention I could think of and yet I still think I’m just as informed as everyone else in my circle, at least to a certain extent.

You can’t avoid it. So block everything and you’ll still be informed.

[–] DandomRude@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'm from Germany. I subscribe to a decent weekly newspaper ("die Zeit") and follow German news sites. I try to stay away from news on social media, but that's hardly possible.

On Lemmy, I've mainly blocked keywords and names relating to US politics because the ridiculous bullshit from the White House is unbearable. Despite this, my feed is still full of the stupid drivel from Trump & Co. This is not news, but at best political soap opera entertainment far removed from reality.

Because this stupid stuff potentially affects me too, of course, I have subscribed to a decent monthly newspaper with an international focus ("Le Monde diplomatique"). I can't stand US politics in particular any other way.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] taiyang@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (4 children)

So far, I've stayed in the know on every god damned thing, even going deep enough in some cases to explore the damage caused. It's stressful, but somebody has to do it and I'm someone less impacted than the targets of this insanity (although I've dated a transfem for years and am trained in education policy, so obviously the news gets to me on a personal level).

One lesson about stress: you've got three ways to cope: (1) you address the source of the stress (or at least feel like you're doing something, like protesting). (2) You ignore it with distractions, which is perfectly fine if it's out of your control, (3) you reframe it, such as "this will pass" or "there's still good in the world", etc.. All three will reduce stress.

We all do all three, and whichever one you find yourself doing is fine. For example, I feel good by trying to share my knowledge and convince my students to give a shit; I still play video games to relax; and I have told myself plenty of times that, while it's bad (very, very bad), that as long as we survive we can build back our institutions (and believe me, the DoE is both important and deeply flawed-- as someone who survived a failed k-12 education and got a PhD in spite of it, education reform has always been my dream).

load more comments (4 replies)
[–] Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

I vaccilate between "Eh, world and my life were always a mess, we could do with a do-over" and "holy shit holy shit holy shit is that a nuke in the distance?". Multiple times daily. Shit's exhausting.

load more comments
view more: next ›