The internet and smartphones have meant that there’s a lot more demand for what is a finite amount of attention. For news, which monetises attention, this in turn means a race to capture as much of it as possible. The most obvious symptom of that is clickbait online, but more broadly, topics that shock and outrage receive coverage disproportionate to their impact on society.
At some point – we are probably past it – this behaviour becomes self-fulfilling, and personalities that are the most skilled at shocking and causing outrage end up being the ones most imbued with power.
By this time, 2020, mainstream publications across print, TV and the internet have for years prioritised the wrong topics. One straightforward way to restore balance is to consciously pick one’s sources of information and news. To start with, think independently about the issues that one think matter now and in the future.
Over the next few months I’m going to recalibrate my news sources to focus on more such issues. My list so far is
- Health and medicine research
- Physical health/wellness
- Mental health
- Public health and diseases
- Personal finance
- Education
- Lifestyle design
- Environment and climate
- Privacy and data ownership
- Edge tech
- Brain machine interface
- AI
- Quantum
- Renewable energy
- EVs
- Life extension
- CRISPR
- Drones and remote tech
- Decentralised ledgers
My guess is that preventing one’s attention from being dominated by short-term topics, events and personalities that are inevitably conflict-oriented, instead driving it towards those that are forward looking and constructive will improve one’s general mood, optimism and mental health as well.