Welcome to TBH – To Be Honest – Capsule’s monthly column with our columnist and old pal, Brodie Kane! This month, Brodie talks us through how we can monitor our news consumption, after the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump made her realise how easy it can be to fall down the misinformation rabbit hole.
And for her previous columns, click here!
If you, like me, have lost your damn mind on more than one occasion this year because you simply cannot comprehend the things that are going on in the world, last weekend’s attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was probably enough to convince you that the Earth has most definitely spun off its axis.
I found myself glued to my phone, eyes wide open, completely overwhelmed and confused by what on earth had just happened in the United States. The footage, the aftermath, the conspiracy theories, the division, the anger, and the noise.
And do you know what? There were definitely thoughts in my head that this couldn’t be happening, that there was more to this than we were seeing. That photo. The flag, the fist, the blood? I just couldn’t get my head around that being a genuine moment in history. So yeah, I – a journalist, a relatively logical and reasonably intelligent person had thoughts that teetered me into conspiracy theory territory. And you know what? You didn’t even have to go to dark or obscure parts of the web for this. In fact, the very man whose life was nearly taken is a master at making people believe things happened that didn’t (ie, the 2020 election being “stolen” from him).
Now in defence of anyone (including myself, haha) who teetered into conspiracy theory territory this week, and maybe nuzzled the opening of the rabbit hole – let’s remind ourselves that some of the things we are seeing in the world seem so beyond the realms of normal, or right, or just, or acceptable, that it’s no wonder it’s a struggle to believe it’s really happening.
Take that first Presidential debate for instance. An 81-year old stumbling President Biden versus the 78-year-old former President Trump mocking each other over their golf swings. THESE MEN HOLD THE NUCLEAR FUCKING CODES IN THE MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD.
Excuse my yelling. But nearly 350-million people in the so-called “Land of the Free” and THOSE are the best you’ve got? Pass me a gin and fan me down.
Some of what we are seeing you simply couldn’t write a script for. It’s so cooked, so bizarre and so deeply concerning you’re desperately waiting for someone to tell us we’ve all been punked. But no, we haven’t. It’s real and it’s serious.
And man, isn’t it easy to have a little nosey down a rabbit hole and find yourself a juicy little algorithm that will help you along the way (I’m looking at you, big bad tech)?
So thankfully I managed to haul my brain out of there thanks to this article from David Farrier’s Webworm. It made me realise that it’s a dangerous road to go down when you start to question what’s real and what’s not and, quite frankly, I don’t want to go there. Yes, I will keep informed about international and local issues as much as I possibly can (without losing my damn mind), but it’s led me to a big change in my consumption pattern.
I had already been thinking about how I could best stay across issues globally and locally. I have been going through two cycles. Cycle one is overconsumption (which is so easy to do, given EVERYTHING is available to us on our screens every single time we open it), which then fills me with dread, anger, anxiety and despair about the fuckery of the world. Then, to make cycle one go away, I enter cycle two, which is to withdraw completely from reading or listening or consuming any of it in order to protect my sanity.
So, I’ve thought about a way to sustain a healthy consumption relationship, in an attempt to stay out of rabbit holes and pits of despair! I am going to attempt a consumption day. Or sometimes, two consumption half days (maybe one at the start and end of the week). Those are the days where I will read and listen to a range of podcasts/interviews.
As well as that, I’m also limiting myself to consuming only intelligent, thoughtful content. I’m banning myself from the comments sections of ANYTHING, that is completely banned from the new consumption pattern plan and the days around it! Even if I’m being nosey, it is NEVER worth it.
In between that, I’m going to avoid consuming anything in a news cycle – on any medium. I tried it last week and it was so good (then the assassination attempt on Sunday happened and threw all of that out the window)! To have a day where I am prepared to listen to what’s happening, and, most importantly, to take in a range of views so I’m not just drowning in my own echo chamber.
Otherwise, I think my brain might overcook.
Anyway, I guess what I am saying to you this month is to be careful out there. Never before have we had access to so much information, never before have we consumed this much news on a daily basis. It’s no wonder we’re feeling overwhelmed. And dangerously, we’ve also never before had more access to misinformation. Combine all that with these genuinely bizarre, scary and uncertain times, it’s no wonder we’re losing our damn minds.
I’ll leave you with some amazing advice clinical psychologist Jacqui Maguire gave us earlier in the year – which is extremely relevant and helpful in terms of managing our own mental health when it feels like the world is imploding.
Much love xxx