Am I selfish to not care about the news?

In many instances news, now a days, is just to much and i believe is a contributor in many ways to this mental dysfunctioning society area of society. it has been successful in division.

The news sux

SIMPLE IS GOOD said:

It seems to me that I really don't care about the news unless it has an effect on me directly (to be honest most of the news does not). My Question, is am I selfish in this thinking?

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First . . . welcome to Christian Forums

In another place, you say you do better with reading history books.

In my case . . . I am interested not only in what happened, but why.

And "why" seems to have a lot to do with personalities, and therefore what people do because of how they really are, inside.

So, I can handle everyday news, by looking at the why. And I can see how there are people who do what they do because they do not know how to love.

And God's word says what to do about it >

"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

So, I can use the news to remind me of how God wants me to pray with hope for any and all people > love "hopes all things" > in 1 Corinthians 13:7.

SIMPLE IS GOOD said:

It seems to me that I really don't care about the news unless it has an effect on me directly (to be honest most of the news does not). My Question, is am I selfish in this thinking?

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No, you're not selfish. 99% of news is entertainment and/or propaganda. You should care about yourself and the people around you.

I think that it depends on the sources you consider "news" these days. I've gone weeks and only looked at what people were posting in here for the most part as only a few stories directly affect me and I can do something about them at all. If you watch to much news all the time it can affect your mental health I think as too much of it is depressing and propaganda and emotional garbage.

I don’t watch the news at all. I’ve accumulated reliable sources which keep me abreast of current events in areas of interest. I balance the information against my spirit or address it in prayer.

Oftentimes the news provides a specific narrative with an intended outcome. But I look beyond it to discern the truth. It allows me to stay several paces ahead or adjust plans as needed.

I think filtering is a must for peace of mind. You can’t overload on negativity without affect. That includes discussions too. Bad things are usually talked to death. It’s important to establish limits, boundaries, etc.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

The news is almost exclusively negative these days. They might feature one good thing happening in the world for nine bad. There is some benefit to keeping up with what's going on of course, but if it's feeling like it's too much, it's better to give the news a break IMO.

angelsaroundme said:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

The news is almost exclusively negative these days. They might feature one good thing happening in the world for nine bad. There is some benefit to keeping up with what's going on of course, but if it's feeling like it's too much, it's better to give the news a break IMO.

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I think it is unhealthy to read things that contain lies and deception packaged as the truth over and over for hours a day and read things that claim evil is good and good is evil. The ungodliness in the media today has all but peaked if I saw an old man building a giant boat I would likely not laugh at him.

SIMPLE IS GOOD said:

It seems to me that I really don't care about the news unless it has an effect on me directly (to be honest most of the news does not). My Question, is am I selfish in this thinking?

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No.

Nope, haven’t watched the news in years. I have better things to do with the time God has given me on this wretched planet than give it to the truth-spinners. What is the point in consuming misinformation? It’s not a God-given duty.

If someone is guilt-tripping you for not watching the news, tell ‘em there’s no Scripture that mandates news watching. Because there isn’t.

linux.poet said:

Nope, haven’t watched the news in years. I have better things to do with the time God has given me on this wretched planet than give it to the truth-spinners. What is the point in consuming misinformation? It’s not a God-given duty.

If someone is guilt-tripping you for not watching the news, tell ‘em there’s no Scripture that mandates news watching. Because there isn’t.

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I on occasion listen to the news on a local radio station that is talk orientated to get the short scoop on things as they list the top three things in a few minutes with little to no opinion on a sort of commercial break instead of having to be droned for a half hour on how wonderful or awful it is for an acorn to fall off a tree deep in the forest.

Sophrosyne said:

I on occasion listen to the news on a local radio station that is talk orientated to get the short scoop on things as they list the top three things in a few minutes with little to no opinion on a sort of commercial break instead of having to be droned for a half hour on how wonderful or awful it is for an acorn to fall off a tree deep in the forest.

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You do you. I don’t even bother with that anymore, as I find the talk show hosts to be rather agenda-driven individuals who constantly seem to rage against everything.

I just basically ignore world events until they either affect me or reach my collection of internet sites. Some of my chess clubs on chess.com feed me information about news stuff and this forum was nice for telling me about the Roe vs. Wade thing. And the rising prices at the stores and the gas pump tell me all I need to know about inflation being a problem here in the U.S.

linux.poet said:

You do you. I don’t even bother with that anymore, as I find the talk show hosts to be rather agenda-driven individuals who constantly seem to rage against everything.

I just basically ignore world events until they either affect me or reach my collection of internet sites. Some of my chess clubs on chess.com feed me information about news stuff and this forum was nice for telling me about the Roe vs. Wade thing. And the rising prices at the stores and the gas pump tell me all I need to know about inflation being a problem here in the U.S.

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Actually the talk shows I listen to now have nothing to do with politics. There is one about gardening, another about electonics tech, some about investing and some about home improvement, etc. They put out short blurbs mostly talking about local news issues every hour for a few minutes which keeps me abreast of concerns locally without watching a half hour news programs to get updated. They also do weather shorts (forecasts) and traffic concerns too. Even when they talk about some national issue or whatever it is almost in passing. With the internet if I do hear a 2 minute blurb about something that interests me I can research it online instantly instead of having to watch the "news" for up to half an hour including around 10 minutes of commercials.

No, you're not selfish. Probably fortunate that you don't care. The sad reality is that most people who do care a lot are not going to change anything... and the world will still be the same whether they pay attention to it or not.

I think people are addicted to anger because it gives the false sense that they're actually doing something when they're not.

wrong thread.

But I will say be aware not caring does have an effect on you & the rest of the world. It's important to be informed of what's going on so when/if it does ever affect you you're aware of the background & stuff behind what's going on.

DragonFox91 said:

It's important to be informed of what's going on so when/if it does ever affect you you're aware of the background & stuff behind what's going on.

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I just believe that the news isn’t informative anymore. It’s just a collection of negative-selected and negative-slanted world events coated in a thick wax coating of lies.

In order to be informed, I’ve found that I need to read books and do research, not passively sit in front of the doomsayers. I’d rather know about Christian missions and progress around the world, or even about a cat being rescued than all of the car wrecks and wars.

Speaking of which, no amount of news watching will save you from a car wreck, and if there is a war, you’re going to know about regardless of whether you watch the news or not. So there’s no need to panic. You can turn the TV off. The world isn’t going to suddenly punish you for it. In fact, you may find that telling the TV overlords to vamoose will give you a better life. All said overlords do is stir your anxiety.

Given the existence of Mean World Syndrome (opposite of Prov. 15:30), I'd say it's an act of self-preservation. Stay informed about current events directly affecting your life, while not overtaxing your mental health (John 8:31-32, 1 Pet. 3:15-17, Prov. 18:21, 27:12, 2 Tim. 1:7).

A book I highly recommend reading is The Coddling of the American Mind (2018), by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff. Contains good insight on Mean World Syndrome, social media, and how it affects society, especially politically. God bless!