[Ntrails]

> It is almost impossible to escape the constant barrage of takes and news headlines these days without being a total luddite

It really isn't that hard, if I'm looking at my experience. Maybe a little stuff on here counts. I get my news from the FT, it's relatively benign by all accounts. I'm not sure that opting out of classical social media is particularly luddite-y, I suspect it's closer to becoming vogue than not?

Being led around by the nose is a choice still, for now at least.

[abustamam]

I think the comment you're replying to isn't necessarily a question of opting out of such news, it's the fact that it's so hard to escape it. I swipe on my home screen and there I am, in my Google news feed with the constant barrage of nonsense.

I mostly get gaming and entertainment news for shows I watch, but even between those I get CNN and Fox News, both which I view as "opinion masquerading as news" outlets.

My mom shares so many articles from her FB feed that are both mainstream (CNN, etc) nonsense and "influencer" nonsense.

[Ntrails]

Right, and my point is how easy opting out actually is.

I have no news feed on my phone. I doubt on android it is any harder to evade. Social media itself is gone. The closest I get to click-bait is when my mother spouts something gleaned from the Daily Mail. That vector is harder to shift I concede!

[abustamam]

Fair points on both fronts! Though I think you may be conflating simple with easy. Removing social media from one's life is certainly simple (just uninstall the app!), but it's not that easy for some people because it's their only method of communication with some folks. I mostly don't use SM but I log onto Instagram because some of my friends only chat there, same with Facebook.