005 - Fake News!

So I was thinking about a time when we were living in Chicago back in 2012 in a high rise apartment on the 40th floor. A beautiful location right on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. We had spectacular views of the Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue and the lake. We didn’t have cars so we walked everywhere. We were able to explore the city from the ground level, step by step. It was just my wife and I and our two Chihuahua’s Winston & Brooklyn. This was before Piper came along. We were packed into in about 700 square feet. We didn’t even have a door to our bedroom. But we loved it!

It was around the time of the 2012 election and I was deeply into “Election News”. I was consuming a lot of information on TV, radio and the internet. I’ll admit something, I’ve always been kind of a political junkie. I’m a lifelong Republican and the information was so available because of the internet and social media I was completely over consuming. Honestly, I knew Democrats, especially in Chicago, who were just as obsessed as I was.

I think it was really the first Internet/Social Media election of consequence. Honestly, the whole election was stressing me out. Our place was really small but thankfully chihuahua’s don’t take up much space. Anyway, I don’t even remember why but Brooklyn pissed me off really badly. She might have peed on the carpet for like the 40th time. I was IRATE! I chased her around the apartment with one of those swifter things that you use to mop the floor with. She ran under our bed so fast I couldn’t reach her. I was seeing red and I think if I had caught her I’m not sure what I would have done to her. My wife finally asked me to leave the apartment and take a breather

Once I had a chance to calm down and think about what I had done I realized that my reaction to the situation was way out of perspective. I’m not prone to anger or outbursts. I did owe Brooklyn and apology and promptly gave it to her. In retrospect, I was sure it was stress related.

I really wanted to get a handle on what happened. Why was I so stressed out? We lived in an amazing location, in the best city in the country, work was going well, we were really happy. I had to take stock of what was going on in my life and I knew I needed to make changes.

I realized that I had gotten sucked into all of the drama of the election. I wanted the outcome that I wanted and I was sure it would happen. The information I was consuming confirmed my bias. But I still had doubts and this worried me.

I was borderline obsessed with a future outcome I had no control over. I was spending way too much time, consuming information and the emotional swings were dramatic. It was taking its toll on my psyche and my overall health. I wasn’t sleeping well, I wasn’t eating right, I was wound way too tight. Can you relate? Have you ever felt this way?

The incident with Brooklyn was the tipping point for me. Who gets that mad at an 8-pound dog? And to this day she’s still the nicest dog we’ve ever owned.

I knew I needed to look at the source of my stress. For me, it was “The News” and all the other sources available. This was at the beginning of when Social Media had become a factor in elections. Also, blogs were churning out tons of information. Talk radio was a constant drumbeat. When I sat back and looked at it, all of it was causing me stress!

It was time for a digital dismount. I needed to cut out 90% of what I was consuming. I stopped watching The News because it was all so negative anyway. Some might call it “Fake News” today, I know I do. I believe it was and is designed to upset me, us, no matter what “side” we’re on. It really doesn’t matter if you watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox News they are all trying to do the same thing. They want an emotional reaction from you. That hasn’t changed since 2012 when I made the decision, it’s actually gotten worse.

So I deleted my bookmarks of the blog sites I was following. I stopped listening to Talk Radio and started listening to Books On Tape. More personal development, more positive mindset. I filtered my social media removing all political info and opinion. It didn’t matter if it was coming from a news source or a facebook friend I blocked all of it.

My plan was to see how I felt without all this info in my life. I also focused on my diet, exercise, water consumption and sleep. It didn’t take me long, only a couple days to start feeling better. That election did happen and I did plug back in from time to time to find out the latest. But way less than I was before. When I did plug back in I felt my stress rising.

I was thankful that the election finally was decided so that I could move on. I had to accept the results and carry on with my life. It wasn’t going to affect me anyway. Sure I was disappointed but I’m sure it was less than if I been consuming “The News” at the level I was before or worse.

Here is some survey data for you to think about:

  In 2012 A Pew Research survey found that television news viewership had remained relatively stable. 55% say they watched the news or a news program on television yesterday, little changed from recent years. In 2017 a Pew Research survey found that just 37 percent of Americans got news “often” from local TV last year, down from 46 percent in 2016. Network TV's regular news audience dropped by four points, and now 26 percent of Americans get news often from network TV Even in 2017 the trend was heading downward. Whether it was because people were then and are now getting their news from other sources, because they didn’t want to feel stressed out or if they realized that it was actually “Fake News” remains to be seen.

As far as I’m concerned since 2012 I have hardly watched “The News” at all and I think it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. That’s a long time! Is anyone out there listening doing the same? And you know I figured out that I can get “my news” when I want to from sources I trust. My main source for information is actually Twitter.

I follow certain people on Twitter who I believe provide value in my areas of interest whether it’s politics, health and aging, business or sports. The list of people expands and contracts all the time. On a daily basis In a short amount of time I can scan the topics “lists” I have created that provide me with the information I’m looking for. And if I find something interesting I can research for more articles and information I want.

I am more in control of the information I am consuming. As opposed to being “spoon-fed” information, especially political information, that fits a certain narrative. And is designed to upset me. Since 2012 my stress level is considerably lower and I feel much better.

Maybe you’re feeling stressed out? Maybe you consume a lot of “The News”? Maybe you are ready to make some changes? Perhaps you would like to try some of the steps I’ve taken to and filter the information that I receive and reduce my stress level. If you do I’m confident you’ll feel better. Reduced stress is one of the keys to healthy aging. Give it a try. What have you got to lose?

Thanks again for joining me on Aging Is Optional Radio. I hope you found some value in this episode. That’s really my goal. You can find the podcast on iTunes and I’d really appreciate it if you would subscribe and give it a rating and I love receiving comments!

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