Some considered thoughts on the 'No News' experiment

In June I started an experiment where I actively avoided the news. I stayed away from the news on TV, I changed channels on the radio to avoid it and did not buy a newspaper.

I wanted to see what would my response would be to not having that negative deluge of information flooding my thoughts.

First off; it's hard to avoid the news media! This stuff is pervasive, in a modern western culture like the UK it's difficult to avoid seeing or hearing some part of the news media.

Some examples:
I went to the pub.......Channel 5 News was on the pub TV.
I went to visit a company......Sky News was on a TV in the reception area
Go to the supermarket to buy some groceries.........the first thing you walk past is the newspaper stand
I logged into my Yahoo email account..........there are the news headlines on the home page

So the 24Hour news media is hard to avoid; you can, as I did choose to disengage from the endless negativity but it harder than it seems.

So practical consideration aside, what happened?

I gained at least 30 minutes extra time in the morning. I used to watch the news every morning from 6-6.30am (I'm an early riser). Now I use that time more constructively to plan my day or finish domestic chores. I don't miss the highly repetitive nature of the morning TV news show.

With my new found extra time I went back to freshening up some skills that had become a bit rusty. A positive result.

Not watching the late night news meant that instead of having the news agenda on my mind as I went to bed I started thinking much more about the things that are of importance to me and my family.

I thought that I might feel somehow cut off from events without watching the news or listening to it on the radio but the media is so pervasive that it is still possible to know roughly what is going on even when avoiding the nightly bulletins.

At the end of the experiment I feel I have changed, for the better. I make more effective use of my time (surely our most valuable resource) and I'm learning (or relearning) new skills.

I recommend you give it a try. I found it a liberating experience, it's just possible that you may feel the same way too.