We have become a news addicted society.

Doubt it?

How many times have you read Nairaland so far today?

How many more times will you check it before bedtime?

When All News is Breaking News

Like some disaster has just occurred.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately?) it is usually just some trivial event or topic that you could care less about.

Nairaland is meant to inform, educate, and discuss the important topics of the day.

Unfortunately, most news on the front page these days is entertainment, sensationalism, and basically a waste of your time.
So, how much of your time do you spend reading the Nairaland front page?

For most individuals, this takes up too much of their time each day. Do you really need all that?

Less News = More Productivity

What could you get done if you read less news?

Chances are that you could reclaim a good amount of time in your day.

So, instead of saying you don’t have time to do this or that… stop checking the news.

Here are 10 Reasons Your Should Stop Checking the News:

It Doesn’t Change That Often – Really, it doesn’t. You don’t need to check it 17 times a day. You don't need to rush or stay on her line for first to comment. Every day or even every other day is plenty.

Most of It Doesn’t Matter – Most of the news out there is not meaningful. You are better collecting the topics that are important to you via a news reader (RSS). Or subscribing to a certain section that interests you. Or better still, use the follow button when you see a user that shares the same kind of thinking you do, or want.

Much of it is Wrong – As the cliché goes, “If it was written on the Internet, it must be true.” Anyone can type on the Internet, and you shouldn’t read anything without questioning its truth. News curation in the future won’t just be about content… but accuracy.

The Nairaland frontage news are unnecessarily Sensationalized – Some mods (can't give names but you probably know them )have blurred the line between news and rumors. This is almost as dangerous as #3, in that made-up stories are portrayed as news.

Most of it is Trivia – Does what the The Kardashians are doing help your day? Does what car Justin Bieber is driving today matter to your work? Does D'banj's latest car or Don Jazzy's recent photo shoot help your life in any way? Most of the news we read is the equivalent of junk food for our brains.

Much of the News Isn’t News at All – I just reviewed the front page of one of the top news websites and found 14 front-page headlines that end with a “?” This basically means that these news stories aren’t stories. Rather, they are questions, made up topics, and fluff material. Not worth your time.

News makes us passive. News stories are overwhelmingly about things you cannot influence. The daily repetition of news about things we can't act upon makes us passive. It grinds us down until we adopt a worldview that is pessimistic, desensitised, sarcastic and fatalistic. The scientific term is "learned helplessness". It's a bit of a stretch, but I would not be surprised if news consumption, at least partially contributes to the widespread disease of depression.

Bad news is toxic to your body. It constantly triggers the limbic system. Panicky stories spur the release of cascades of glucocorticoid (cortisol). This deregulates your immune system and inhibits the release of growth hormones. In other words, your body finds itself in a state of chronic stress. High glucocorticoid levels cause impaired digestion, lack of growth (cell, hair, bone), nervousness and susceptibility to infections. The other potential side-effects include fear, aggression, tunnel-vision and desensitisation.

Watching/Surfing the News is Inefficient – Watching the news is not a great use of your time. Sitting through endless nairaland arguments, depressive tribalistic threads, vitriol and more, when you could be doing more productive with your time. Again, you could get the same information in a fraction of the time via a new reader. (RSS) or by following certain nairaland users.

Too Much of the front page news is Negative – Online forums loves a bad news story. Reading the front page is bound to bring your attitude down. Don’t let the news impact your attitude and thus your productivity. Check the front page right now and count the number of negative depression inducing topics. You might not want to accept, but it actually affects the way we live and function. Negative news glamorize depression.

If you want to be happy and get more done in your day, stop reading the news.

Or at least cut back on your daily excess.

The news will be there when you are ready for it.

And don’t worry, if it is that important… the news will come find you.

Reclaim some of your news time each day and you will be able to get to the things that matter.

So, stop reading the news… and instead go do something newsworthy.

you could go to the gym and feel better every day
you could help someone and at the same time feel happier
you could build an MVP which could turn into a startup
you could write an article and start building a useful resource for others

Question: How many times a day do you read the news?

I will read news pls

Mods ensure dat ds thread does not c front page, pls.

resty4:
Mods ensure dat ds thread does not c front page, pls.

Trust me, it won't.

mod dis trend must make FP