Completely out of touch (Part one)

I stopped watching the news, listening to NPR in my car, looking at all social media (except Pinterest because art and recipes), or receiving any type of notification about anything going on in the world. 

“What?!!” you say as you clutch your pearls; “Don’t you want to be an INFORMED CITIZEN? Don’t you want to know what’s going on in the world?!!!”

I’m so glad you asked.

The answer is yes and no.

Yes, because…of course I want to be informed. Just like everyone else on the planet, I want to know what’s going on.

No, because, well…I’ll get to that.

But here is the way I think about it:

1.      There is very little in the news that has a direct impact on me, and even less that I have control over.

2.      Most of the things that directly impact me are at the state and local level as far as politics/policy is concerned.

3. Delivery of news can be emotionally charged rather than directly informative.

4.      If there is something big and crazy going on, someone will tell me in an unsolicited manner.

(I was informed about both the virus-that-shall-not-be-named as well as Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. I’m certain people will keep me up to date on other pressing topics.)

But, in the meantime, I decided to step back.

I know what you’re thinking. How can she be so callous as to not care about pressing current issues? And that’s a totally fair question.

The thing is, I do care. Waaaay to much. So when I hear about war, or human trafficking, or injustice, and then have no way to do anything about it, it’s almost unbearable.

Even still, removing the vast majority of media from my life has by no means been an easy decision.

I’m a sucker for a good story.

I do want to be a thoughtful and informed citizen.

One day in 2016, I finally decided that my need to be an informed citizen might actually be a problem.

I was sitting in my doctor’s waiting room, passing the time until I was called back for a yearly physical. I was reading an article that really had me heated, and wouldn’t you know it, they called me back to the exam room.

I put my phone away and followed the nurse down the hall. A minute or two later, she came back with a stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff and took my blood pressure.

When she finished, she asked; “Has anyone ever diagnosed you with high blood pressure?”

I shook my head. If anything, it was usually low.

And then it hit me. The article.

I had stopped reading a full five minutes prior to having my blood pressure taken. Something that I read had me so emotional that my body had prepared for fight or flight. My heart rate and blood pressure were through the roof!

From thought alone, I had changed my physiology. And not for the better. Yikes!

I quit everything. Cold Turkey.

After a period of several months without any news consumption, I found myself relaxing. When anyone did talk about intense world events, I felt truly detached from the emotional aspects of it.

So, it may be that I am mostly out of touch with the things that are happening in the world. I don’t find this ideal, but it’s the trade-off I’ve decided to make.

In return, I get a lot of other things.

1.      A ton of time

2.      Increased mental bandwidth

3.      The ability to form my own opinions on a topic, even if they differ from people with similar political leanings as myself.

4.      Normal blood pressure.

5.      An “outsider” point of view. Meaning, I can view my culture through my own lens and not through the narrative of the culture.

6.      I am out of touch.

For me, this trade-off is a no brainer. The benefits, for me, outweigh the downsides.

I realize that the last one on this list is a little perplexing…so I’ll expand on it in part two.