Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

HARM #02: INFORMATION ADDICTION INSTILLS SADNESS & FEAR …
In order to keep you “plugged in”, the news strives to shock you out of your sense of
complacency. In practice this means that it must either depress you, scare you or anger
you. Not surprisingly, studies have shown that almost all the stories shown on TV &
Internet newscasts are related to crime, disaster or war. In contrast, public service
announcements & other “positive” stories account for less than 1% of that same air-time.
More importantly, studies have also shown that the folks who watch such negative news
programs are significantly sadder and more anxious than those of us who do not. And not
only that – those same people also showed a tendency to respond to future anxieties by
“catastrophizing” them; meaning that those who watch negative news reports tend to
fixate on a particular worry so persistently that they believe it to be far worse than it
actually is – and thereby also suffer far higher levels of anxiety and stress than they
normally would feel.
In essence, gorging on the negative information with which we are being force-fed is
causing many of us to live unnecessarily angry, sad and fearful lives.
“Everyone in our culture has been polluted by the garbage of this world, and we all need
to be washed clean. We need minds that are uncluttered so they can be free to dream
again.” ~ Shane Claiborne
*HARM #03: INFORMATION ADDICTION DESTROYS RELATIONSHIPS …
This is by far the most sinister (and by far the least recognized) of all the harmful
consequences of information overload. In our information-obese society, it has become
socially acceptable to turn away from meals, interrupt conversations and break off social
engagements just to deal with incoming messages or attend to “breaking news”.
Even more harmful is the phenomenon of “self-marginalization”, where the more
information we process, the more isolated we become as individuals. Basically, the more
we notice the differences between the different bits of information we are absorbing, the
more we also subconsciously identify those things as being significantly different from
ourselves. If this psychological dynamic is not consciously noticed and checked, we
slowly yet steadily lose the ability to listen to others sincerely. We also lose the ability to
have empathy for those others, and we lose the ability to express our love &/or
compassion for them as well.
In essence, the more we “know”, the less we feel …
The more we “understand” our world, the less we truly understand ourselves.
“Stop learning and start knowing …
When a rose opens, it falls outward.” ~ Rumi
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