Some people turn on the radio first thing in morning. Others collapse with the evening news. While some mindlessly scroll through social media, others remain "informed" by viewing CNN and other Youtube channels. Even some people get breaking news alerts sent directly to their phones as part of some ritual. And they all seem to agree that every citizen has a serious obligation to keep current with the news. Everyone — except from me.

At least halfway, some people sort of agree with me. They will criticize cable news for its obsession with graphic crimes, its horse-race political sloppiness, and its never-ending flow of PR-flavored trash. They still believe the system can be corrected though. Hell NO. To be honest, I don't see anything left worth saving.

Pick today's New York Times. A chart displaying a rise in abortions in 2024. Some blips on diplomatic wriggling. Stocks flowing down. China's economic data. Actors in Hollywood signing a new contract agreement.

None of this shit touches my life. It may be fun to read, but it's a pointless fun, a nice, easy, stupid waste of time. It has no bearing whatsoever on what I do.

At this point, the majority of people will nod and say, "Okay, fine, but there's still virtue in knowing." As if being continuously informed about current events somehow makes you a better citizen. They'll preach about newspapers holding the power to account - keeping bastards in check.

Technically, that might be the case. The irony is that I never get involved. The government fucks up, the news screams about it, people rage-tweet, the government mutters an apology, and then—surprise—they keep doing the same shady shit, just a bit more sneakily. Yes, there is a cycle. Perhaps even a practical one. But even if no one read a goddamn word of it, it would probably still function perfectly. It is a self-sufficient machine.

Voting comes next. However, being an informed voter does not entail immersing oneself in political drama on a daily basis. Before the election, all you need is a good voter guide that explains the issues without being overly dramatic. No interminable cycles of lies and rebuttals, no scandals that cause whiplash. You get to think, really.

Some people argue, “But sometimes a news story really changes your life.” Come on. I mean, how often does that actually happen? The big shifts in life come from deep reading, long essays, thoughtful books — not some 800-word panic piece written under deadline.

This leads me to another type of half-agreement: the mocking of the news cycle by TV critics. "Unconfirmed reports say—Wait! This has just arrived! They are not true reports! No, hold on, we have proof that refutes the original unverified report. We all laugh. However, they continue to believe that better timing is the answer. For example, "Just wait until it's confirmed, then run the damn story."

All right, but why end there? Why not receive the news once a day if five-minute updates are pointless? Or once every seven days? Better yet, once a year? You wouldn't miss it, I promise.

People could read real books instead of wasting their time watching the news, which would provide them with greater depth, clarity, and meaning. But, they don't. Because deep down, they know that the majority of that content is irrelevant .

The part that people deny the most is that keeping up with the news isn't a waste of time. It's bad for your brain. One man claimed that reading the New York Times first thing in the morning caused his mind to become so jumbled that he was unable to think clearly for the remainder of the day.

A tidal wave of inaccuracy results from the news's obsession with covering every damn topic in a shallow manner. Go to the corrections page; it's a cemetery of mistakes. And you already know that they make a mistake if you have ever been featured in a news story yourself. We become paranoid because of their continuous crime porn. Reflection is killed by the breathless urgency. The shallow coverage? It also makes us shallow.

I mean it when I say that this isn't just another piece of cocky psychology nonsense. With the exception of the occasional foray into a subject that truly interests me, I haven't kept up with the news since I was 19. And I've improved as a result. Relax. clearer. more concentrated. However, I hardly ever come across someone who has the courage to follow suit. Most people are too afraid to pay attention.

“Fuck it, I’m out.”