When my stepson was little, he played organized soccer briefly.
Whenever the ball was in play, every kid on the field would run straight to the ball and try to kick it toward the goal. Even the goalies would abandon their position to chase the ball.
As a result, soccer games were a great way to tire out your little kids. They didn’t learn much about strategy, passing, position playing or teamwork. But they made a lot of noise and were completely exhausted by game’s end.
This is what the news seems like to me.
I spend a lot of time alone. When I’m not reading, working out or walking the dog, I listen to podcasts, watch YouTube and occasionally check the web for information on current events (aka news).
With few exceptions, these sources regurgitate exactly the same information about the same subjects.
- Donald Trump’s Twitter feed
- The Covid pandemic
- Tiger King
- The Me Too Movement
- Black Lives Matter Protests
- Fires in California
- Vaccinations – first shortages and now reluctance
- Taxes, Federal Spending Bills, Congress and Biden
- Cyber Hacking
- Miami Condo Collapse
They are all chasing the same soccer balls.
What I find interesting about this phenomena are the proclamations that “this changes everything” or “this is the new normal”.
For the most part, these things change nothing. Stories dominate the news for a brief while and then they fade away and are replaced by the latest outrage, tragedy or anomaly.
When I was younger, I believed the news provided accurate, thoughtful and well reasoned information.
I no longer believe this. I don’t think it was true back then and it certainly isn’t true now.
The news sells advertising and is focused on making money. They will do whatever they have to do to accomplish this goal.
If it bleeds it leads has been around for a long time. Scary stories, fear mongering and politicization is nothing new.
What is new, is the proliferation of people and businesses trying to make money from advertising. They are everywhere. Everyone is trying to make a fast, easy money online.
The soccer ball is ad revenue.
That’s why they all chase it.
I cannot change the system. It’s not worth fighting.
Instead I opt out. Multiple times a day, I intentionally decide to not waste my attention or brain power thinking about today’s soccer balls.
Occasionally I lapse. I’ll dive into the news and consume story after story about the pandemic, the building collapse or the riots.
Whenever I do, I feel terrible. It run-ins my mood, makes me anxious and has me thinking about things over which I have no control.
And, almost none of these things impact me at all.
I write this today after following the Miami condo collapse news closely for two weeks.
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- My wife and I used to go to beach in Surfside. I am sure we swam and sunned in front of these condos.
- We spent many date nights at Surfside restaurants.
- My stepson lives in an old hi-rise condo building a few miles away. Even though this collapse is a one in million rarity, I can’t help but think of him.
I read stories about the people who died. It’s a tragedy.
I feel for those lost, their families and the people who are now displaced.
But it is not my tragedy.
I’m not going to fix anything. I don’t know any of the people involved. I don’t live in the community ad haven’t visited there in nearly 20 years.
If it wasn’t for the news, I wouldn’t even know about it.
And so, I’ve had to make a conscious decision to tune out.