Back to the rules

1. No social media, except for Fridays
2. No news sites, at all – at least for now
3. Run 1 day a week
4. Get on my yoga mat 1 day a week

#2 No news sites, at all – at least for now

You didn’t see it, but I just gave out a very, very, big sigh. You see, being aware and on top of the news has been a core part of my life since I can remember. I dare say, it has been a part of my identity to read the news.

As a child it was the 6pm news on TV. Climbing into my parents bed on a Sunday morning to listen to news radio. *beep beep* it went, on the hour, every hour.

As a student, it was picking up the financial paper and reading it at a cafe. Spoiler – I didn’t work in finance, nor did I actually enjoy reading the AFR. What I did enjoy, was how (I thought) it projected me to the world: smart, a finance studies kid, in the know, above others.

Ouch. That was hard to write, but it was true. I mean, isn’t it true of most late teens or early 20-somethings?

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Moving abroad, it was how I stayed connected to home. One of the ways I maintained a relationship with my family, as news was often a topic of discussion over video call.

More recently, however, just as the social media algorithm has spiraled into spewing out “triggering” content to suck in our eyeballs and minds, news is also highly negative. Family catchups spiral into “can you believe he did this?”, “It’s hard to watch what’s happening”, “it’s just so shocking that they can get away with this”.

This blog isn’t a place I wish to delve into the atrocities unfolding before our eyes on social media and in the news cycle. But if you’re reading this in October 2025, you know what I’m talking about. Multiple wars, genocide, shifts in world power.

My daily heartbreak, sometimes tears, reading and watching the news was damaging my mental health and had developed into a similar addiction to social media. What has he done this time? What have they done now? While I have felt a responsibility to be informed and aware, it reached the point that I was checking news sites almost hourly.

So, how is it going you ask? (By you, I mean me… no one is asking)

Well, surprisingly well. I have accidentally opened the news once or twice. You know, you finish a small task and with marked precision but zero awareness open your phone. (This has happened with socials as well, and I quickly close when I notice what has happened.)

I saw a peek of the news when I checked my socials on Friday, but otherwise I’m quite unplugged. And just like with social media, I surprisingly don’t miss it, and I’m sure as hell that news sites don’t miss me either.

So for now I’ll continue to ban digital news from my life. Perhaps there’s a monthly magazine or paper I can read in physical form – any recs?