One of the most troubling thing I find about new arrivals to our mentor program is their reliance upon external sources of news and the profound cluttering effect this has upon their thinking.
This paper gives 15 reasons why the news is bad for you .
In summary they are –
- News misleads systematically
- News is irrelevant
- News limits understanding
- News is toxic to your body
- News massively increases cognitive errors
- News inhibits thinking
- News changes the structure of your brain
- News is costly
- News sunders the relationship between reputation and achievement
- News is produced by journalists
- Reported facts are sometimes wrong, forecasts always
- News is manipulative
- News makes us passive
- News gives us the illusion of caring
- News kills creativity
Good article Chris. My father used to say “never believe anything you read in the news” (he meant see/ hear or read)and I used to think he was a bit cynical. But he was pretty right. And although I have cut down on the news a lot I still watch more than I should, so timely reminder.