Why You're Not Ignorant If You Don't Pay Attention To The News

Did you hear about the shooting in that town?

What about that woman who was murdered on her way home from work?

Or that country that keeps massacring its own people?

No - most likely, I wouldn't have heard it because I don't pay attention to those stories.

It's not like I'm a recluse or an ostrich hiding its head in the sand

FYI: they're not doing that because they're scared. They're actually busy, tending to their eggs.

Interestingly, maybe I am an ostrich then?

It doesn't make me ignorant either because if you look at the definition of someone who is ignorant:

"Individuals who deliberately ignore or disregard IMPORTANT information or facts, or individuals who are unaware of IMPORTANT information or facts."

– Wikipedia, my friend

Do you notice the words IMPORTANT?

Important has a different meaning for everyone.

For me, things that are important are the things I care about and have control over. They matter to me because I can do something about it.

Everyone has a story of how they became who they are. The moments in our history shape our motivations, beliefs, values, character and ultimately, what we care about.

So here's why I'm not ignorant for not following the news.

Our Old-Ass Brains Are Wired To Be Problem Addicts

When I was an undergrad studying neurophysiology, I learned that one of the reasons why young people tend to be more impulsive and have thrill-seeking behaviours is because their forebrains aren't as developed as old people's.

Our forebrain is responsible for predicting the consequences of our actions. And as we age, we get better and better at risk management, seeking potential threats and planning actions to minimize their risk.

Our brains are wired to always be on the lookout for things that could harm us so much so that they can even prevent us from pursuing our dreams!

Ever had this thought pattern?

Someday, I'll open up my own Etsy shop and sell my sock puppets.

But then what if no one buys them?

Or what if some kid buys one and gets hurt playing with it?

Then his parents sue me.

Then I lose in court and become bankrupt.

Then I'll have to live on the street.

And my feet will get cold because I used all my socks for sock puppets.

Then I'll get frostbite on my feet, lose my toes and the ability to walk.

I'll become that lady I saw on the news who rolls around in a busted wheelchair, soaked in her own urine, asking for change.

OMG…I'll become that woman.

Yeah, no thanks!

I'll put my dreams on hold thank you very much.

Now imagine a constant stream of information that tells you all the negative things that could happen to you.

Your forebrain is in overdrive, taking all that data and creating a zillion pathways to mitigate each risk. With each pathway created, it makes you worry more, gets you more riled up and more anxious.

But your forebrain's loving it, becoming this workaholic whose addiction is fed every time you follow the news.

Reading a news story about a man who died trying to climb the tallest skyscraper without a harness* makes us feel validated.

Your forebrain's like,

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I fucking told you so! The pathway that you'd die if you climbed a tall building was created when you were 5 years old but digesting this information now makes it so gratifying. Keep those news stories coming!"

*FYI: I made that news story up so please don't go looking for it

Most of us aren't climbing skyscrapers but knowing someone died from doing so makes us feel righteous as though we made a good decision not to do something we weren't going to do anyway.

Genetically and being raised by immigrant parents, I am programmed to be as risk-averse as possible.

Worrying is already ingrained in my DNA. Plus, I'm a mom and that just makes the world an even scarier place. I don't need the news to make me more fearful that my kid's going to get sick if she doesn't wear a jacket.

"Ohhh, won't somebody please think of the children!"

-Helen Lovejoy

I Get Enough Excitement At My Day Job (Plus I Know Too Much)

I've been working in healthcare for over a decade. And one thing I know for certain is that people die all the fucking time.

If not death, people get hurt. People hurt each other. People hurt themselves. And they get hurt in all sorts of ways, physically, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, and even spiritually.

Sometimes they get hurt even when they're supposed to be getting help from a system they pay taxes for.

Yup, it happens!

Years ago, my job was to lead investigations for critical patient safety incidents. This is when the shit hits the fan and someone's death or severe harm is avoidable because the system that was supposed to serve them failed.

I'd gather all the data, put together a review committee with all the necessary programs, interview everyone who was involved in the patient's journey to figure out what happened.

Then I'd lead a root cause analysis to document why it happened, what can be learned from this incident, and what actions can be done to reduce the likelihood of recurrence and make care safer.

Yes, like something you see on TV. No, it's not like that at all.

So after years of doing that, I don't need to be watching the news to understand the media's perception of what happened (often using horrendous language to catch your attention) because I know there is another side to the story.

Bureaucracy, governance, red tape, jumping through hoops, whatever you want to call the barriers to solve major issues within a complicated system, are REAL.

I've seen how the sausage gets made and it's not pretty. And the people who work within the confines of these systems like myself are doing the best they can.

As a recovering perfectionist who suffered from disordered eating, depression and self-harm at a young age, I learned that there are many things you can't control. The only thing you can control is yourself and it's empowering to know I have a choice in what I expose myself to.

Even As A Kid, I Wasn't Interested

When I was in Grade 5, my teacher, made us do this exercise every Monday morning called "CBC News."

For those not living in the "True North strong and free", CBC stands for Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and they do radio news.

It's a big deal eh?

Anyway, as a way to teach us how to take notes properly, my teacher would record the morning news and play it for the class, making us listen to stories about Boris Yeltsin, Netanyahu, the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide, the Bre-X scandal etc.

I find it funny how even after over 20 years, I still remember some of those stories.

While the host went through the news, I would madly jot down countries, cities, names, bullet points, basically, anything my little hand could scribble.

I'd get SO STRESSED out about this because there was a test at the end of the month. And the test was open book, which meant the questions could literally ask about anything that was said.

I remember I got like 15/20 on it. Being the studious kid at the top of her class, I was pretty disappointed in my mark

Although I had mastered the traditional method of achieving academic success through memorization and regurgitation, the CBC News test required a different method, something I wasn't used to and my average score reflected that limitation.

Sidebar: Perhaps, unlike the Chinese family dinner conversations that I had growing up, the Canadian kids had parents who talked about current events around the dinner table, making the CBC news exercise relatively easy to do.

Reflecting on this now as a parent, my teacher was actually pretty cutting edge at the time, thinking outside the box to teach life skills to a group of 10-year-olds. He exposed us to global issues, challenged the status quo and helped us develop our active listening skills.

Unfortunately, his efforts in making me interested in the news did the exact opposite.

I was super relieved my grade 6 teacher didn't make us do the same thing.

Following The News Is A Hobby, NOT A Chore

When I entered University, I started meeting people who followed the news religiously, with the belief that if you didn't know what was happening in the world, you were considered "ignorant."

We were active, young, vigilant students fresh out of high school, wanting to change the world and I got swayed.

So I started watching the news on TV, reading the newspaper, skimming Google News headlines; however, every time I finished a news story, I'd get really drained.

The world is a sad, sad place!

I'd get so tempted to skip to the comics section, flip to the Food Network channel or log into Friendster or Facebook.

It felt like a chore. It was depressing.

But mainly, I just wasn't interested.

I should have listened to my kid-self

So similar to my story of how I stopped giving in to people who pressure me to drink, I became true to myself and just said,

"Fuck it, I'm done. Following the news is a hobby, NOT a chore; therefore, I have a choice to do something more fun with my time."

At the end of the day, if it's important enough, I would have found out about it already.

So Readers, do you enjoy following the news? Why do you follow? How do you feel when you see a good news story versus a bad one? Let me know in the comments.