Any time I get together with a group of journalists for a few days of learning, I tell them the same thing: It’s OK to disconnect from Slack, Twitter and whatever else is giving you constant updates about the news.
The world will keep spinning, I promise, even if you’re not watching it.
Yesterday, Nieman Lab’s editor, Laura Hazard Owen, wrote a great piece reminding us of that and how to disentangle ourselves from the never-ending news cycle. The latest one I’m adopting — “I’ll read news, not other people’s reactions to news.”
Phew, I needed that.
I also love that she’s looking for ways to teach her kids about news. May I suggest to her and any other parent/aunt/uncle/grandparent or good adult, that you check out literally everything from MediaWise?
I’ve been learning from their approach for years, and like most things, I’ve found the little things add up. When my kids were younger and they told me something they’d heard, my response was often, “How do you know that? What’s your source?” And then I’d gleefully watch them go in search of the answer until, one day, they both started coming prepared.
Last week, I told my 17-year-old son something wild I just learned about our favorite show, “Bob’s Burgers.” (Yes, it was from TikTok.) My son’s immediate response to me was, “What’s your source, mom?”
I’m not sure if he gleefully watched me go in search of the answer, but it is possible that while doing so I was also melting with satisfaction.
I mostly have a bunch of links to share this week, but if you have any strategies for disconnecting and having a healthy relationship with the news, I’d love to hear them.
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