Great move, Mike! I returned our cable box back in the 2000s and caused some chaos as to what to do with it since they’d never had anyone return one unless they were trading up or moving. Haha! We don’t watch tv at all. Our screen isn’t connected to the internet. We occasionally watch our hard copy DVDs and BluRays. But without the television brainwashing, life is beautiful. My friends know not to send me “headlines” or “news” stories because I just laugh when they want me to be stirred up. Not gonna happen. Go Mike!!
I, like you, stopped listening to the news a long time ago. I will on a rare occasion turn it on to view data on natural disasters but I watch and read very little.
For those wanting to “stay in touch” with what is going on, good luck to you. All that you’re staying in touch with is curated opinions, not facts. And opinions from others isn’t what I want to base my world upon.
So, what am I doing? In the face of all the hatred and unrest? I am staying as true to my own heart as possible. I am being kind to all whose lives touch mine, I am donating to causes like The Ocean Cleanup because they are not only cleaning up the great garbage patch by thousands of tons every year, but they are deploying interceptors to catch trash in the world’s rivers before it can even get to the ocean.
I won’t ever have world wide influence, nor would I want it. I choose my world, my family, my friends, my neighbors, my community, and I affect it as best I am able with caring, sensitivity and equality.
I applaud you right back, Teyani! :) It all sounds good, and I think your positive influence on so many done without external influence is very appealing probably not just to me but to lots of people. Thanks for setting a great example.
I am so with you, Mike. I am very selective with what I listen to, watch and read in the news. It is all so curated and I am just not letting those messages and that tone, control my day. The quote you shared about centering one's life on a noble cause. Wow. Mind-blowing. I can't stop thinking about it....
This really resonated with me, Mike, as I left IG and FB in May of this year and I stopped watching the news back in 2014 (wow, has it really been 10 years?! Where does time go? lol 😂). Even living in the Jamaican countryside 30 minutes away from the nearest town with a bank and grocery store, information has a way of finding me and always has since I stopped watching the news. People used to ask me the same question you mention in your post about how would I know what was happening if I didn’t watch the news…the truth is, the news doesn’t give us an accurate account of what’s happening anyway as you so eloquently discuss here. I stand with you in solidarity on this my fellow peaceful warrior (and your flowers are stunning…keep putting energy there my friend!). ✌️
Hey Mike, another great piece as always....and just about as close as I'll ever allow myself to get to politics nowadays...kudos for that..!🤣 I too have given up on the "machine" of the news...all it does I'd suck me down into its depressive hole, and then HOW exactly am I supposed to be a good and productive person?? It's hard. I guess I'm probably too easily affected by stuff like that, but despair has always been my chilled heel. And the news reeks of it. Ugh. Thanks again for this refreshing gulp of air.
Thanks Niki! Yeah, I don’t delve into politics here or on any platform, and so i really wanted this to be about broadcast news (which does encompass politics but also a lot of other things). When I write, I actually want people to not know where I stand politically. Kind of separate it from the content of the message if that makes sense. Good to switch it off. 📺 😊
Great decision! I haven’t watched the news in years in order to protect my mental health. It’s nothing but doom and gloom that keeps people living in fear. When I want to know about something, I Google it :)
I can’t agree with you more about all of this. “Social” media has become bastardized - no more feel good there. You referred to SM as “anti-social”. I Started referring to Facebook (that’s where I was at) as “anti-social” media in late 2020, because that is exactly what it became. I deactivated then, occasionally checking in on certain things from time to time, but no more comments, posts or shares. I went totally deleted earlier this year.
Your take on the media (in general - primarily news) was a bullseye. There is no longer any reporting anymore. Everything out there now, when I was growing up, was known as “editorial” and opinionated comments were supposed to be labeled as such. If there was a fire, a reporter was out there, said where it was at, maybe talked to a Fire Marshall and sent it back to the studio. No editorializing on the neighborhood being a depressed area and ___________(group) being responsible. Just reporting the actual facts. Watching a news show now should require that “editorial” label be posted the entire 30-60-90 minutes of the broadcast.
Then you nailed the bottom line - $$$$$. The almighty buck. What you probably missed was that it’s not 100% the advertisers. No, I’d bet that’s less than 50%. No, it’s the Soros, Gates, Bezos and the such outright financing the agenda driven brainwashing that so many have fallen for and that now realize how they’ve been manipulated.
I join you on your freedom. Not freedom OF the press (media), but freedom FROM the press (media).
Mike I applaud your decision to leave traditional media in the dust, and I'm sure you mental health thanks you. I am conservative in my beliefs but there's so much gaslighting and flat out WRONG information on BOTH sides. Some of it is accidental, much of it is intentional. All of it is designed to grab eyeballs and elicit outrage and anger.
I hope more people jump off the emotional bandwagon and ditch traditional media. We would all be healthier.
When I was a kid, my dad watched the news every evening. Get this - the newscaster dispassionately read out facts. That’s it, that was the whole schtick. Can you believe it?
It’s a different world, Mike. I think you’re making a wise decision, and I’ve heard the same from lots of folks this week in particular.
I remember the same thing! :) AND, there was only like 2-3 news sources to choose from, and they were basically the same monotone delivery of the facts. Amazing.
Mike I applaud your decision to leave traditional media in the dust, and I'm sure you mental health thanks you. I am conservative in my beliefs but there's so much gaslighting and flat out WRONG information on BOTH sides. Some of it is accidental, much of it is intentional. All of it is designed to grab eyeballs and elicit outrage and anger.
I hope more people jump off the emotional bandwagon and ditch traditional media. We would all be healthier.
Great move, Mike! I returned our cable box back in the 2000s and caused some chaos as to what to do with it since they’d never had anyone return one unless they were trading up or moving. Haha! We don’t watch tv at all. Our screen isn’t connected to the internet. We occasionally watch our hard copy DVDs and BluRays. But without the television brainwashing, life is beautiful. My friends know not to send me “headlines” or “news” stories because I just laugh when they want me to be stirred up. Not gonna happen. Go Mike!!
Love this! :) Thank you!
I, like you, stopped listening to the news a long time ago. I will on a rare occasion turn it on to view data on natural disasters but I watch and read very little.
For those wanting to “stay in touch” with what is going on, good luck to you. All that you’re staying in touch with is curated opinions, not facts. And opinions from others isn’t what I want to base my world upon.
So, what am I doing? In the face of all the hatred and unrest? I am staying as true to my own heart as possible. I am being kind to all whose lives touch mine, I am donating to causes like The Ocean Cleanup because they are not only cleaning up the great garbage patch by thousands of tons every year, but they are deploying interceptors to catch trash in the world’s rivers before it can even get to the ocean.
I won’t ever have world wide influence, nor would I want it. I choose my world, my family, my friends, my neighbors, my community, and I affect it as best I am able with caring, sensitivity and equality.
Thanks for this piece Mike. I applaud you.
I applaud you right back, Teyani! :) It all sounds good, and I think your positive influence on so many done without external influence is very appealing probably not just to me but to lots of people. Thanks for setting a great example.
I am so with you, Mike. I am very selective with what I listen to, watch and read in the news. It is all so curated and I am just not letting those messages and that tone, control my day. The quote you shared about centering one's life on a noble cause. Wow. Mind-blowing. I can't stop thinking about it....
Thanks Gayle. I thought it might resonate with a few people (including me) :) Hope you’ve had a good weekend!
This really resonated with me, Mike, as I left IG and FB in May of this year and I stopped watching the news back in 2014 (wow, has it really been 10 years?! Where does time go? lol 😂). Even living in the Jamaican countryside 30 minutes away from the nearest town with a bank and grocery store, information has a way of finding me and always has since I stopped watching the news. People used to ask me the same question you mention in your post about how would I know what was happening if I didn’t watch the news…the truth is, the news doesn’t give us an accurate account of what’s happening anyway as you so eloquently discuss here. I stand with you in solidarity on this my fellow peaceful warrior (and your flowers are stunning…keep putting energy there my friend!). ✌️
Hey Mike, another great piece as always....and just about as close as I'll ever allow myself to get to politics nowadays...kudos for that..!🤣 I too have given up on the "machine" of the news...all it does I'd suck me down into its depressive hole, and then HOW exactly am I supposed to be a good and productive person?? It's hard. I guess I'm probably too easily affected by stuff like that, but despair has always been my chilled heel. And the news reeks of it. Ugh. Thanks again for this refreshing gulp of air.
Thanks Niki! Yeah, I don’t delve into politics here or on any platform, and so i really wanted this to be about broadcast news (which does encompass politics but also a lot of other things). When I write, I actually want people to not know where I stand politically. Kind of separate it from the content of the message if that makes sense. Good to switch it off. 📺 😊
I definitely agree. People don't need to know my position on things; not their business!
Great decision! I haven’t watched the news in years in order to protect my mental health. It’s nothing but doom and gloom that keeps people living in fear. When I want to know about something, I Google it :)
It seems like I’m a slow learner! 😆 😆 That’s a good strategy.
I can’t agree with you more about all of this. “Social” media has become bastardized - no more feel good there. You referred to SM as “anti-social”. I Started referring to Facebook (that’s where I was at) as “anti-social” media in late 2020, because that is exactly what it became. I deactivated then, occasionally checking in on certain things from time to time, but no more comments, posts or shares. I went totally deleted earlier this year.
Your take on the media (in general - primarily news) was a bullseye. There is no longer any reporting anymore. Everything out there now, when I was growing up, was known as “editorial” and opinionated comments were supposed to be labeled as such. If there was a fire, a reporter was out there, said where it was at, maybe talked to a Fire Marshall and sent it back to the studio. No editorializing on the neighborhood being a depressed area and ___________(group) being responsible. Just reporting the actual facts. Watching a news show now should require that “editorial” label be posted the entire 30-60-90 minutes of the broadcast.
Then you nailed the bottom line - $$$$$. The almighty buck. What you probably missed was that it’s not 100% the advertisers. No, I’d bet that’s less than 50%. No, it’s the Soros, Gates, Bezos and the such outright financing the agenda driven brainwashing that so many have fallen for and that now realize how they’ve been manipulated.
I join you on your freedom. Not freedom OF the press (media), but freedom FROM the press (media).
Great job, my friend. Great job !
Hi Ken! Thanks, glad to have you here as usual. I really think you make an awesome distinction at bottom - between "Of" and "From". Good one! 👏
Mike I applaud your decision to leave traditional media in the dust, and I'm sure you mental health thanks you. I am conservative in my beliefs but there's so much gaslighting and flat out WRONG information on BOTH sides. Some of it is accidental, much of it is intentional. All of it is designed to grab eyeballs and elicit outrage and anger.
I hope more people jump off the emotional bandwagon and ditch traditional media. We would all be healthier.
Thanks, Mack! Agreed - I really believe your point about health and mental health are so valid.
When I was a kid, my dad watched the news every evening. Get this - the newscaster dispassionately read out facts. That’s it, that was the whole schtick. Can you believe it?
It’s a different world, Mike. I think you’re making a wise decision, and I’ve heard the same from lots of folks this week in particular.
I remember the same thing! :) AND, there was only like 2-3 news sources to choose from, and they were basically the same monotone delivery of the facts. Amazing.
But now we are incapable of forming our own opinions so we need to be told what we think 😉
Brilliant piece Mike ✨
And thank you for sharing!
Thanks 😊 🙏
Mike I applaud your decision to leave traditional media in the dust, and I'm sure you mental health thanks you. I am conservative in my beliefs but there's so much gaslighting and flat out WRONG information on BOTH sides. Some of it is accidental, much of it is intentional. All of it is designed to grab eyeballs and elicit outrage and anger.
I hope more people jump off the emotional bandwagon and ditch traditional media. We would all be healthier.