I think the distinction here is actively seeking out information when it becomes relevant to you personally vs. passively absorbing information through the news in case it might be relevant. Being armed with information that is pertinent to you is useful, but 99% of the information you receive in the news doesn't meet the standard of pertinence, even if you initially think it does.
It would be impossible to miss information about Covid even if you were living under rock. Once you become aware that there is a potentially deadly pandemic underway, you can go and look for information regarding steps to protect yourself, notifications from authorities, etc. You will still get the same important information. But what I've found over the last year or so is that passively scrolling regarding updates inundates me with information that feels important, but ultimately changes very little for me personally, other than heightening my sense of anxiety and uncertainty, and messing with my ability to make judgements regarding risk.
Very little of the world's ills seem to be improved or altered at all by the fact that individuals are bombarded with news more now than ever before. But our ability to cope with those ills seems far lessened due to this deluge of information.
> but 99% of the information you receive in the news doesn't meet the standard of pertinence
Oh, no doubt about that. Maybe add another 9.
It helps to consume it written, so you can jump over all the trash.
> It would be impossible to miss information about Covid even if you were living under rock.
But this is not the case. I know people that missed useful information because they were living under a rock. And yes, after you know what to look for, it's not hard to go get high-quality information elsewhere. But a channel for "notifications from authorities" simply does not exist... or rather, it exists, it's called "mainstream news".
Anyway, I agree that a short news cycle does indeed not help anybody and harms a lot of people.
It would be impossible to miss information about Covid even if you were living under rock. Once you become aware that there is a potentially deadly pandemic underway, you can go and look for information regarding steps to protect yourself, notifications from authorities, etc. You will still get the same important information. But what I've found over the last year or so is that passively scrolling regarding updates inundates me with information that feels important, but ultimately changes very little for me personally, other than heightening my sense of anxiety and uncertainty, and messing with my ability to make judgements regarding risk.
Very little of the world's ills seem to be improved or altered at all by the fact that individuals are bombarded with news more now than ever before. But our ability to cope with those ills seems far lessened due to this deluge of information.