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757 points headalgorithm | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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snapcaster ◴[] No.42952889[source]
I think "being informed" is very overrated in general. Often it means being informed about palace intrigue and intelligence service/corporate narratives. I would say that in general media consumption or "staying informed" should be seen as a vice not a virtue
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johnnyanmac ◴[] No.42957316[source]
So what's your alternative? Living in ignorance until it's too late?
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1. lmm ◴[] No.42960216[source]
How often do you actually act on something you saw in the news, within, say, a month?

I avoid news qua news as much as possible and try to read up on things after a month or so, when the heat has gone out and more sober analysis has taken place. E.g. I'm vaguely aware there was a plane crash recently and look forward to reading a proper writeup of that at some point, but I doubt there's anything to be learnt from diving into detailed coverage right now.

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2. johnnyanmac ◴[] No.42960487[source]
Most stuff on the news doesn't feel like it threatens my life (e.g. Not a wildfire 5 miles away from me). So admitedtly not that often.

But probably more often than you'd expect. I see layoffs and I check up on contacts to see if they are okay. Major crashes or other kinds of disasters if I know people in the area. I see tarriffs and think "well, gotta grab stuff before that". I see issues with food and warn my family. Since a lot of my family is military I do need to check up everytime some chaos happens in DC. These aren't large actions but I do act on that knowledge.

This is definitely a case right now where I feel it's important to be informed instead of "letting it blow over". There may not be anything left this time. If you don't feel like it that's perfectly fine. But I'm genuinely looking for any ways to help, no matter how small.