Russia is gathering troops on the Ukraine border, but who cares?
COVID-19 numbers are going up, but who cares?
Biden’s holding a summit on democracy, but who cares?
Sweden’s first prime minister resigned on day one, but who cares?
Keanu Reeves married Winona Ryder, but who cares?
… because nothing has really changed, has it? You don’t personally know any of these people, and they live far away from you. Everyday life continues as it always did. Until these stories personally affect you — and they virtually never do — they might as well be fairytales — stories about people, places and events that took place a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
So why care at all?
Most people would agree that it’s necessary for adults to stay informed of current events. This is something responsible adults are meant to do. No one likes to be accused of living under a rock, after all — and how would important life decisions be made without knowing what’s going on in the world? This is why people who don’t follow current events are called ignorant.
Before mass media existed, the word news had a different meaning than it does now. People would travel from afar to bring news of events that mattered to others, such as the death of a relative. By contrast, the majority of contemporary news reporting is relevant only to people who want to participate in the democratic process, in which voters, politicians, influencers and the media interact in order to collectively decide on who to appoint to public office.
If you are never going to cast a vote, there is strictly no need to catch the news. Information that’s essential to your personal health and safety is always available elsewhere. If you are in the habit of catching the news, it’s hopefully because you feel that you must stay informed in order to perform your duty of voting. Or perhaps you just enjoy the drama. Hopefully, you’re not catching the news because you’re addicted to it. Being addicted to hearing about all the bad new things that happened in the world is an excellent way of making yourself anxious, depressed and outraged.
It’s really not necessary — not even if you vote — to catch the news several times a day. You could get away with catching it once a week. The reason people think it’s important to catch the news constantly is because the news media wants them to think that it is. The more the news media can convince people that it’s important to catch the news, the more influence it gets.
News stories rarely end. They just disappear, and there is rarely any closure. Books and films offer closure, usually in the form of a happy ending. Drama is exciting, but a good story has a conclusion. Conclusions are healthy because they release psychological tension by removing fear, uncertainty and doubt. Society clearly needs less tension.
Perhaps society, then, needs to tell itself better stories.