So I have a fantastic health tip for everyone today. It's free, it's easy, it involves literally no work or effort, and I promise, it will make you a happier, more positive person. Sound too good to be true? Well it's not. Step one: Stop watching the news and reading the news paper. That is all.
The news isn't what it once was. Strange that watching a satyrical comedy made me realize this. I watched Anchorman 2 and came to realization that the news used to be about things you needed to know. Important happenings around the world or in your own neighbourhood. It was things that effected you, things that mattered. But somewhere along the way, the media outlets realized that there are more effective ways to get peoples attention. They found that tapping into stronger emotions gets, and keeps peoples attention more effectively. People don't care about who got elected in a different county, or if the god particle has been discovered in Switzerland. People want drama. So that's what they give us.
The Black Eyed Peas have a great line in their song "Where is the Love"
I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that will bring you trauma
Are people really addicted to drama? We surely get our fair share of it every day thanks to media. When we get fed drama every day, do we start to need it? Drama gets our stronger emotions going. It gets us angry, it gets us upset, it gets us sad, and it gets us pumped up. When you hear the stories told by the media today, they peak your interest. That's why those things are in the news, to get you roped in. It's not because they are important stories.
Here's the part where I give an example! Todays news according to CBC is as follows: Some guy named Justin Bourque killed a RCMP officer. A 14 year old boy and 12 year old girl assaulted a woman and tried to steal her baby. Some branch of government is going bankrupt, so is planning to charge people more money to look up information. Killer whale J-32 died. 2 carjackings and chases where halted by police. <-This is the same formula the media uses every day to keep you coming back. Take news, add drama, mesmerize millions. It's the same thing every day. Someone got murdered, someone stole something, a politician is corrupt, the worlds getting to warm, there are dangers lurking in your home, and the sky is falling. Don't get me wrong. I believe that all those things happened, and will continue to happen. My problem is, it's the same shit every day. It's not intended to inform you, or protect you. It's designed to scare you, enrage you, provoke you and agitate you. None of these stories matter to you. You didn't get murdered, and if you did, you'd know. You didn't know killer whale J-32. You are shocked an enraged about the corrupt politician, but you will do nothing about it. You're car didn't get carjacked, and again, if it did, you already knew about it. Then they throw some stories into the news to make it feel like you're involved or effected by it, like "dryer lint fires are far more common than we know, are you at risk?" or "Do you have two ears, ten fingers, and 3 or more toes? You have a 4% greater chance of getting cancer!" They make you think something bad might happen to you to invoke fear because lets face it, you're going to have to tune into that to make sure you're going to be ok, but really, are you going to do anything about it? And does it really effect you? Yes there were 15,000 dryer lint fires in the USA last year, but there are 117,500,000 households in the USA, most with dryers, leaving you with a 1 in 8000 chance of having a dryer fire, which probably won't kill you anyhow. The "ebola epidemic" that had every media outlet on high alert, to keep the public safe and informed, was a hoax. 2 people died. It was a great story to get people freaked right out, and keep them glued to their TV for updates, but it was a complete and utter farce. How many people were talking about it? It was the only topic being discussed for days. 10 times more people will die of lightening strikes this year than ebola. While you were stuck to your TV, eating twinkies, watching the "ebola epidemic" you failed to realize, 1 in 150,000,000 people died of ebola, while 1 in 500 died from eating too much shit food and not getting enough exercise.
The news stories are chosen based on what is going to get the most viewers, not what is the most important. The best way to get viewers is to shock, scare, anger and engage them, so that's the media's goal. But what effect does this have on you? Is getting angry, stressed, horrified, and disgusted every day a good thing? I watched a story on the news once, that living with stress can take up to 4 years off your life. Ironic isn't it? Maybe the news media should have a disclaimer at the beginning of all their programs and on the front of the news paper: "Warning: contents known to cause extreme distress, side effects may include, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping."
Wheel of morality, turn turn turn, tell us the lesson that we should learn! Todays lesson is: Turn it off. It doesn't effect you, and even if it does, there's nothing you can, or will do about it. What you don't know can't hurt you. I used to completely disagree with that statement, and thought it was extremely important to keep up to date on current happenings. I was wrong. As much a world happenings matter, they aren't worth ruining your life over. I stopped watching the news a few years ago and every now and then, I catch a bit of news from a friend or co-worker, and I remember why I stopped watching. I don't want to be angry, so why subject yourself to something designed to do just that.
The next time you sit down in front of your TV, you could watch a comedy, or the news. Ask yourself, do you want to be happy and laugh, or get angry and frustrated?
(If you caught my Animaniacs reference, you're probably on the right track to being happier, and less stressed already)
