If my little social sphere is any indication, lots of people in general are avoiding the news for various reasons.

Not that I’m a young people, per se, but the thing I’m finding is that more traditional news sources have destroyed their value and self-limited their reach.

News on local TV stations is positively dystopian. One moment they’re telling us about six orphan children burned to death in a bus accident, and then seconds later, everybody is all happy and smiling and giggling about last night’s game. Happy smiling cheery faces telling us “in these unprecedented times” and then following up with a presentation about whatever random show “TONIGHT ON LOVE ISLAND XXL” as though that’s actual news and not just a blatant advertisement for their corporate owners.

All the local news websites are locked behind paywalls (3 free articles per month, subscribe for $8.99 a month to view more) and absolutely plastered with scummy, scammy ads that make the whole thing illegible. Obviously some of us know how to bypass all that, but sadly in 2026, it feels like we’re but a tiny minority. Most people view the workarounds as more trouble than its worth, and I honestly can’t blame them. Besides, did you know that the new Star Wars Marvel Baby Groot versus Baby Yoda Season 4 is coming out July 17th, and it’s bigger news than the power rates going up 18% starting this fall?

So, what folks are left with, the easiest news to catch, is the stuff that’s practically forced down our throats, for free. It may not be accurate. It may actually be purely false and opinion only. But it’s a short form video from a fitness influencer with so much filler in her lips that you can’t help but stare and you don’t actually have to pay attention to what she’s saying and besides she’s got Charlie XXXXCSSCCCSSXXXXXIEE’s latest hit playing in the background and she says cool shit like “Girl Same”.

And anyway, my observation is that all these people who say they don’t keep up with the news are actually still getting exposed to it, it’s just that the news is coming from their friends and neighbors and church members and so on who got their info from the totally reliable and unbiased sources of … Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and TikTok. So, not only is it poor quality, it’s gone through a game of telephone. Yay!

I don’t want to see pictures of Tr*mp or M*sk against my will. Why can’t all this AI bullshit be used productively to help curate my live internet experience? Give me the articles when they don’t assault my eyes with the literal causes of several of societies largest problems.

I wouldn’t call it “news” as much as a collection of billionaire bullshit propaganda flying in formation.

They don’t want to be constantly reminded of the full extent of the dystopian nightmare they’re inheriting? Wow, how strange and surprising!!! /s

The news agencies has themselves to blame to some degree. Hyper sensationalizing everything for decades has established more and more desensitization baselines to the point we now have fascists taking control all over the world in no small part thanks to them.

Edit for clarification: Proper, ethical journalism does indeed matter. But the vast majority of “news” is not that.

“Recent facts scary when world already complete shit.”

Yeah, yeah we know.

Not good you need to keep up with the many things that affect you and the world around you.

Yea I feel this

‘Oh. Things got worse beyond human comprehension, good, good. The torment nexus is collapsing into a black hole under its own weight. Cool cool’

That’s what the kleptomaniac billionaire - trillion tires want.

“Check out, life is scary and hard. Let us handle paying attention, planning, and implementation.” Evil devils.

Guess what? Life is hard and scary. The only way to change it is pay attention, get organized, get involved.

to their detriment.