I had sort of a news detox without realising it. For about two weeks when sister number 3 visited, I didn’t listen to BFM, a local business radio station, from Monday to Friday. I didn’t do searches on YouTube for my regular dose of politics cum economics podcasts. I also didn’t watch the late night shows and other political satires.

I didn’t not know what was happening in the country and around the world. I just wasn’t consistently reading, listening, and watching the news. I had more important and urgent things to do like spending time with sister number 3. True.

I like knowing what’s going on in the world. Funnily enough, it was only when I asked my husband if there were any good podcasts to watch, the ones that I had missed over that fortnight, that I had a ‘aha’ moment/realisation. I had been less bothered, without any real angst or stress during the time when I was less tuned to the news. Hmm. I think mainly because I hadn’t mulled over current and on-going topics, and I hadn’t discussed any opinions or developments that were/are constantly percolating on the various platforms.

That made me ponder about the news and me. Was I better off without the news? Is knowing or not knowing better? How much knowing is just right? And, how does knowing help? I don’t know.

What I do know is I want to stay engaged and informed on what’s going on both locally and internationally. I guess I’m curious like my mum. Also, the news may include decisions, policies, laws, and legislations that could directly or indirectly affect me in one or multiple ways. For instance, I may miss out on announcements regarding petrol subsidy rationalisations or health warnings due to Covid or dengue cases in the country.

On the global stage, tariffs are big news. I’d like to know how this has/is impacting the world economy, growth and cross-border relationships, and how countries will be managing imports and exports, investments, inflation, cost of living, and employment issues. And, of course, the impact it’ll have on me. Fewer choices on shelves, maybe. Higher prices for products and produce, more likely. Rising personal inflation, surely.

Sovereign security is another on-going topic. Spun from different angles, view-points, and vested interests. Who benefits? Who losses? Who to believe? Wars, civil conflicts, and confrontations scare me. ‘Today, roughly 2 billion people – one quarter of humanity – live in conflict-affected countries. Meanwhile, global military spending has skyrocketed, reaching an all time high of more than $2.4 trillion in 2023^[1]. Up again to $2.7 trillion in 2024.

Climate change and devastations like floods, droughts, heatwaves, wildfires, and tsunami worry me. I also want to know about food shortage, water scarcity, housing, aged care, mental health, and immigration.

Misinformation and disinformation also concern me because of the scale they’ve grown/are growing and the monumental harm they cause.  

‘Misinformation is false or inaccurate information. Examples include rumours, insults, and pranks. Disinformation is deliberate and includes malicious content such as hoaxes, spear phishing and propaganda. It spreads fear and suspicion among the population^[2].  How do you police this? Particularly when high office spews brazen lies intended to polarize and create chaos with no repercussions in sight.

AI intrigues me. I want to know how it will help individuals and industry. I use AI to look things up. I don’t reference it because I don’t particularly trust its findings or information proffered.

‘In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), a hallucination or artificial hallucination (also called bullshitting, confabulation or delusion is a response generated by AI that contains false or misleading information presented as fact. This term draws a loose analogy with human psychology, where hallucination typically involves false precepts. However, there is a key difference: AI hallucination is associated with erroneously constructed responses (confabulation), rather than perceptual experiences^[3].

I also turn to the news to learn about the rich-poor divide, inequality, and fairness. Yes, whatever happened to playing fair and doing the right thing. This is true. My friend from university, in a matter-of-fact way, said to me that life’s not fair, so get on with it. A little taken aback at first, I had to agree with her. Life’s not fair. But the sad part is it’s becoming even more less fair.

Anyways, there’s so much going on here and elsewhere that I feel obliged to take notice. Like I said, I’m curious and I want to know. But what do I do with what I know? Not much. I get het-up, complain and cuss the one/s I think are responsible. Hence the angst and stress.

So how? Limit time spent on the news, more so now. Not watch news cycles and/or podcasts where ‘experts’ espouse their opinions/thoughts/views on same-same topics and happenings. And, hopefully feel less bothered.