I Can’t Take It Anymore
Look, I’ve been in this business for 22 years. That’s right, since the early 2000s when we still called it ‘journalism’ with a straight face. I’ve seen a lot, but honestly, the way news consumes us now? It’s completley out of hand.
I remember when I first started at the Burlington Gazette. It was 1999, and we had, like, one deadline a day. Now? It’s a never-ending cycle. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
My Phone Is My Enemy
Last Tuesday, I was having coffee with my friend Marcus—let’s call him Marcus because his name is actually Steve and he’d kill me if I outed him as someone who complains about tech. Anyway, he showed me his phone. His entire home screen was news apps. CNN, BBC, even some local Vermont rag I’d never heard of. And get this—he had three notifications badges. Three!
I asked him, “Marcus, I mean Steve, when do you not consume news?” He just shrugged. “It’s always on,” he said. Which… yeah. Fair enough.
But here’s the thing: it’s not just the news. It’s the constant noise. The alerts, the buzzes, the little red numbers that never go away. It’s physicaly impossible to escape.
But What Can We Do?
I’m not sure but maybe we should all take a step back. I read this digital detox tips practical guide the other day, and honestly, it made a lot of sense. Like, turn off notifications for a day. Or a week. Or forever. Who knows?
I tried it last month. Well, I tried for about 36 hours. Then I panicked. What if something important happened and I missed it? What if my colleagues thought I was out of the loop? What if, God forbid, I had to actually talk to someone face-to-face?
It’s a committment, that’s for sure. But it’s also kinda liberating. I mean, I actually read a book. An actual, physical book with pages. It was weird.
A Quick Tangent: The Weather
Speaking of weird, have you noticed how weather reports are now breaking news? I was watching the local news last night—okay, fine, I was doomscrolling—and they had a “BREAKING WEATHER” alert. For clouds. Just clouds. No rain, no snow, just clouds moving in from the west. I mean, come on.
But that’s the world we live in now. Everything is urgent. Everything is a crisis. And it’s exhausting.
Back to the Point
So, what’s the solution? I don’t know. Maybe we need to demand better from the news outlets. Maybe we need to set boundaries for ourselves. Maybe we need to go back to reading newspapers on actual paper.
I don’t have the answers. But I do know this: the way we consume news now is not sustainable. It’s not healthy. And it’s definitely not making us happier.
So, let’s talk about it. Let’s have a real conversation about how we can make the news work for us, instead of the other way around.
And if anyone has any good book recommendations, hit me up. I need more clouds in my life.
About the Author: Jane Doe is a senior editor with over two decades of experience in the news industry. She’s seen it all, from the rise of the internet to the fall of common sense. When she’s not ranting about the state of journalism, she can be found hiking in the Vermont woods, trying to unplug from the world.
To gain a clearer perspective on the challenges facing today’s journalism, consider this insightful analysis of how the rapidly changing news cycle impacts us all.
To gain a deeper perspective on the challenges facing today’s journalism, consider this insightful piece on the realities of the modern news cycle.
