In this
modern day and age, news is being shared through various mediums. Some of these
news outlets are: social media, newspaper, television, and radio. It is extremely
difficult to not be somewhat privy to what is going on in the world since
information is easily accessible in the palm of one’s hand. This past Thursday
and Friday, I undertook the task of being ignorant to what was going on in the
world.
Throughout the entirety of February
2nd and 3rd, I did not read or watch any form of news.
When the assignment was given to me, I did not think it would be so hard. To my
surprise, it was a challenging task. There was a magnitude of articles being
shared on social media that I was tempted to read. I also am accustomed to
checking the weather on a daily basis due to the sporadic warm weather during
the winter months.
Not only did I find the news black
out difficult, I missed being able to freely read articles posted by news
organizations and my friends on Facebook. I deleted my weather app on my iPhone
and found myself looking for it in hopes that there would be unseasonably warm
weather. Thankfully, Thursday and Friday were both cold as expected.
The news blackout interfered with my
daily checking of the weather as aforementioned. I was also unable to gain
tidbits of knowledge as to what is going on in the world such as with the
presidency, any accidents that may have took place, or information for this
week’s Super Bowl. I like to glance through headlines at work occasionally and
I found myself wanting to do so more than ever. The reason being is that I knew
I was unable to do so and things are more attractive if they are prohibited. I am not used to being deterred from reading
or watching what I please. It was a strange feeling to not have the freedom of
information.
The news blackout led me to avoid
certain conversations at work and to avoid the television that is constantly
playing CNN. If I heard a coworker or customer talking about a new decision
that President Trump had made, I made it a point to distract myself.
Unfortunately, I was unable to avoid all conversations and I was in earshot and
heard about the Trump rolling back a regulation that the Obama administration put
in place in regards to Wall Street regulations. On Saturday, I was able to read
up on exactly what it was. Other than work, I did not have any conversations
pertaining to news with family and friends.
I learned that I consume more news
in my life than I thought. I did not realize how passively I actually research
news on my own. I tend to check my CNN app twice a day to stay informed. I
deleted it for those two days and was itching to download it back on my phone. I
also learned that I read a great deal of what news organizations post on my
Facebook page. I consumed twice as many articles on Saturday than I usually do since
my news blackout was complete. It is a hard task to remain oblivious to news
when it is flooded every which way. The best way to complete a news blackout
would be to not leave one’s home and not surf the Internet.
News is everywhere that one goes.
News can be heard on the subway from a stranger, reading a newspaper cover in a
grocery store, receiving push notifications on a smart phone, or logging into
one’s social media account. It is almost impossible to not find out new
information. To be oblivious is of the utmost difficulty. I did it for two days
and I do not wish to do so ever again.
