Reading the news can be quite enlightening but also extremely depressing. Where do we find a balance as a society to have good mental health but also be a good citizen by keeping up on current events?
As I grew up the news was cast on the TV quite often. I would try to avert my eyes since I was scared of what frightening events were occurring. As a child I was not ready to face reality. If I had the remote in my hand I would always change the channel to turn off the news as soon as I could.
Sitting here in 11th grade I have a better understanding of the importance of news compared to me as a child. I know that having knowledge about the world I live in is one of my duties as a citizen. It seems almost everyday my history and English teacher reminds me how reading the news is a must to succeed. For example, recently Trump is trying to abolish the Department of Education. One day in history, very soon after the news started talking about this event, my teacher asked the class what we knew about the situation. No one answered and the teacher was severely disappointed in us. She mentioned how reading the news is very important. Especially when laws are being taken away that directly affect us. We nodded our heads. After that I realized the weight of knowing about the news. Imagine if you have to learn the hard way that one of your rights got taken away; that would be very sad. It seems it’s better to be informed than not.
The news exists to bring reality and share what the world has going on. Sadly many of those events aren’t the most joyful, but its purpose is not to boost mental health.
But what amount of news is too much for one’s mind? If everyday I scrolled endlessly through the news my happiness would deteriorate. My mind would begin to think that the world was a terrible place. I would jump to conclusions that our world was collapsing with all these issues. But the other side of it is I gain all this knowledge. Reading the news can help critical thinking, being informed,
I believe there is such a thing as too much news. I think that there should be a balance of reading the news and avoiding it. This balance can look different for everyone. However, having balance also means that the judgement has to stop. There is a belief that if you are well informed about the world you are smart. But if you don’t keep up on current events you’re looked down upon. It should be important to value and understand everyone’s different knowledge of events.
My personal balance of news is every other day or so I take a light reading of what’s happening. I enjoy reading more pop genres. If I read too many murder mysteries or deaths I will have nightmares and be scared to walk around my own house at night. Reading about what’s happening overseas also intrigues me. If I were to sit and watch the news for an hour I would be depressed. For me the news can act as a horror movie. That is my balance, my goldilocks recipe. Sometimes I wish I was less sensitive and could read the news more. Well read people are pretty cool. But that’s not me. As a society I believe we can accept every type of person, no matter how much they know about current issues. Find your own balance because being informed matters, but so does protecting your peace.
