The Breaking News Mindset

How often do you watch the news?

What are the typical top stories you hear on any given night?

Newscasts will slightly vary from region to a region, but a quick glance at CNN, MSNBC, NYT, Wall Street Journal, etc, will show that the majority of the news is ubiquitous.

Immediate political problems, celebrity gossip, stories of senators have orgies in their apartments; all of these stories hold precedence in the world that is, breaking news.

As a result of this instant gratification news style, a consumer style society, and a plethora of other social and economic stressors, much of the world has developed a mindset that only focuses on the immediate and present.

If something is not staring one in the face, it’s not worth mentioning.

The breaking news mindset is only concerned with what is occurring right now. There is no focus on the long term impact of bigger and more important issues.

This is how most of America demands and expects their news, no one wants to hear about how childhood obesity and poor education systems is going to make our nation a group of fat retards, they would much rather hear floating heads fight about some in topic political issue that will all but forgotten in a few weeks time.

Just like how nearly everyone fails at their New Year’s resolutions, or tries to lose weight, the long term focus is nearly impossible for people to gain any sort of focus on, and as a result, shift their efforts and attention to issues that truly have lasting impact.

Occasionally these issues get plugged because of some breaking development (holy shit, my 7 year old has 20 pounds on me) but as a whole they are lost and forgotten like some far away countries at war.

But what if people demanded coverage of more important issues?

Could you focus on the long term goal of losing weight in order to put down the Snickers bar?

Can you stop buying Costco portions of bottled water to prevent the pending pollutional doom for Earth?

Can you brush your teeth without the faucet on in order to save money on your water bill at the end of the month?

There is nothing wrong with living in the present, taking action, and generally getting shit done, but if your entire life is focused on a marathon of American Idol, chances are that you will not have enough time to start on that new project you have been daydreaming about.

The breaking news mindset not only causes for worthless television and information, but it also warps your  mind to believing that a bag of Doritos in your son’s lunch, a new bracelet from Tiffany’s, and a constant download of political bickering is going to somehow make your life better.

You and both know that you’re wrong though, so do something about it

Take back your mind

Gabriel