[ersii]

As of a hundred comments, none seem to have mentioned that this is not inherent in social media but in media in general.

Remember to take breaks from the news cycles (whatever flavor of news and outlet you prefer) and try to not get emotionally engaged in what is really quite distant from your actual life.

The news, wherever they come from and regardless of what they are about are mostly just a distraction from what actually matters, your own life, family and mission.

[mumblemumble]

I realize this trick won't work for everyone, but a couple years ago I figured out a nice technique to combat all these problems, while still allowing myself to read the news: I made a pact with myself to only actively consume the news in a language I don't speak fluently.

If nothing else, I'm improving my language skills, so the time spent doing it is edifying, even when the piece itself isn't. The concentration involved in deciphering the article inserts some emotional distance that helps me not to get too worked up about what I'm reading. And, since reading in a language one doesn't understand very well is tiring, the whole exercise is self-limiting. It's literally impossible to get sucked in.

[black_puppydog]

I came here to something similar: I quit twitter and facebook a while back, and I have found myself spiraling wildly over the last months.

And I even agree that it's healthy to keep some emotional distance to the news.

But right now, the news will have a very real and direct impact on what I will do. I'm happy I followed them much more closely in February, which allowed me to get out of the big city just before the lockdown was announced, without too much logistic trouble.

These days it is about returning. Should I go back to renting an inner-city apartment? Depends on how this will go over the next few months. Which in turn largely depends on how people/ public discourse views mask-wearing. Should I visit my family? Well, depends on the situation here and there. Maybe I won't even be allowed to cross state lines by then? What's the contingency plan? Staying abroad for too long, even involuntarily, could reset my girlfriend's immigration status.

I think never in my life have I experienced a situation where the connection between "the news" and direct impact on my life was so immediate.