A staple at my grandparent’s house was the daily paper. I have great memories of grandma and grandpa sitting on the coach sharing the different sections and pointing out to each other what they found interesting.
Back then the internet wasn’t really a thing, cell phones didn’t exist, and looking back it felt like a much simpler time. Now everyone gets the news through notifications, social media, and friends. And they get it instantly.
This method has some downsides and the biggest is that it’s easy to stoke your outrage over something and then share your opinions furthering the outrage. It’s a vicious cycle.
A few weeks ago I decided to subscribe to the local paper. It was pretty inexpensive compared to the big national newspapers and my kids are loving the funny papers. There is something nostalgic about holding a real paper, not worrying about all the ads tracking you, having instant page loads, and just enjoying the simplicity of paper.
More importantly what I’ve noticed is you read everything the day after. It feels calmer and if you are honest that is the way it should be. Instant news is great in an emergency but for everything else, it’s not something you can directly control or act on so it should be passive.
Eric L. Barnes 
Since we got married, my wife and I unsubscribed from all news sources , we even didn’t buy a TV. We’ve been living a better life since then, sometimes our friends make jokes of us when they find we don’t know the names of new actors, singers, cabinet members, etc… But we’re happy.
I don’t know why many people think following the worldwide/nationwide news is important, it’s just enough to know what’s going on in your town, big important events will still find a way to reach you, you just don’t have to follow.
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I love that!
The one benefit I get from the local paper that I didn’t mention is ours shows all upcoming events and things going on around town. Plus our paper is really small, like three main articles a day and the rest just AP reprints which I ignore.
I think I’d be okay without a TV, but my family wouldn’t be happy with it gone. 😉
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We recently bought one but didn’t subscribe to cable, we only use it for Netflix 😀
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We have a TV but the same deal. Just streaming and I don’t follow any news except my favorite sports teams. I enjoy it so much more. Also, been watching twitch a few people making games/art and it is so inspiring.
I’m definitely much happier. Actually thanks to Eric I’ve gotten hooked on Audible and been listening to books a lot more.
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🙌🏼
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You deserve an audible referral lol.
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