Why I Cut Out the News In an Election Year

I’ve talked about some of the reasons I stepped away from social media a little in 2020–2023, which largely centered on our infertility journey and my mental health capacity as a result. But if we’re being completely transparent here, it was largely due to the intense political climate at the time — and the ways I watched others communicate, especially Christians, with one another online, whether it was one-on-one in the comment section or broadcasted in a public post on their account.

The tension in the air was as thick as molasses and it was exhausting to be around, albeit virtually. Scrolling through social media was like walking into a stadium of people — all types of people — who were all yelling in full volume at each other, with some wholesome dogs and innocent babies mixed in, providing a palette cleanser at best and psychological whiplash at worst.

As an Enneagram 9 (nicknamed the Peacemaker), this environment was especially toxic and disheartening for me. I couldn’t stand seeing people I knew and loved in direct opposition with those “on the other side” or so adamantly against some of the things I believe. It is in my nature to create and foster peace, yet there was absolutely nothing I could do to bring peace to the situation.

So of course, I withdrew, from both the noise of the Internet and some people who were close to me — in order to maintain the peace. While I don’t think that’s necessarily the solution, and I’ve since relearned how to exist in those two places in harmony, I do think cutting out the news was one of the best decisions Brandon and I have made.

Somewhere in the middle of 2023, we made a conscious effort to eliminate the habit of turning on the news at 5 p.m. every night. We had stopped listening to the one-sided networks a long time ago, but even NBC and good ole Lester Holt ended up filling our days with such tragedy and uneasiness. It’s not exactly anxiety-reducing to cook dinner with news of the latest shooting at a grocery store, a fatal car crash, or the murder of an entire family. Plus, there are still major ripple effects from the contentious political climate of the 2020 election — and hearing about how divided our country is only makes it feel more…divided. You start to view each and every issue as an opportunity to “choose a side.” And I’m just so over that.

I don’t want the external force of politics to dictate how I treat and interact with strangers — let alone my own family. It is a disease that has infiltrated our neighborhoods, our homes, and our churches. 

I once heard John Mark Comer say something along the lines of (and he may have been quoting someone else): “Jesus was too progressive for conservatives and too conservative for progressives” and it really resonated with me. And if that makes you feel a little uncomfortable (or more accurately, one half of that sentence does), then that should tell you something. It definitely told me something about myself and my blind allegiances.

So today? Brandon and I are blissfully unaware of what’s going on in the political sphere, just in time for another election year. After 2020, I can’t do it all over again. I remember listening to The Daily almost every morning, hearing the number of COVID cases rise and all about the latest political drama. A few years ago, I wrote about how we weren’t meant to have this much access — because we just weren’t meant to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders, knowing about the latest tragedy thousands of miles away or even your middle school friend’s grandma’s death. And that was back in February 2020, before COVID was on the scene and we were all even more glued to our phones and TVs.

I used to make fun of my brother for being apolitical, not knowing about the latest political scandal or who the current vice president is (that’s a slight exaggeration). And now, I envy him. In fact, I’m trying to be more like him.

On Friday, October 6, 2023, we got the official call from our IVF nurse that we were pregnant — that the embryo transfer was successful. And the following day, October 7, the conflict between Israel and Hamas began. I distinctly remember that day: I looked at Brandon and said, “I can’t take this on right now. I can’t get sucked into that.” I know it may sound harsh or like I don’t care about what’s going on, but I knew I could not take on the weight of human suffering around the world while trying to maintain a stress-free environment in our home — in my heart, in order for this pregnancy to continue (if you’ve experienced pregnancy loss, you know the feeling). So for weeks (and still to this day), I consciously choose to skip over Instagram stories about what’s happening, in an effort to preserve my own peace.

Some may think this is heartless or self-conceited — or that “silence is violence” — but if I’m being completely honest, what can I personally do about the conflict? Aside from worry, feel sad, and fill my mind with horrible images I can’t unsee. Not to mention, you would think this would be a global tragedy where we all collectively mourn the loss of human life, but it has instead become the most politically charged topic on my feed. So here we are again, with differing opinions and aggressive emojis filling my screen, blaming and ostracizing the other side.

So this decision to step away from the news in October has naturally bled into this year, a time when we know the heat will only be turned up as we get closer to Election Day. I am still a big promoter of voting and will absolutely do my civic duty on that day — but I won’t make the rest of the days of 2024, both before and after the election, filled with anxiety, contention and anger towards people who hold different views than I do. There’s a difference between remaining informed about major issues and candidates in a healthy way and completely getting sucked into the talking heads on TV and social media with their individual opinions being broadcasted as “news.”

Marcus Aurelius, a Stoic philosopher and a Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD, once said:

“You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

This is a liberating reality — to realize we don’t have control over what happens in the world. But we do have control over our mind and what we expose it to on a regular basis.

I’ve also found that news that is important enough will eventually reach me — usually in a very quick manner, thanks to social media. If I see someone posting about a tragic event close to me (for example, the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville), I can then look it up and stay informed as it unfolds. But that is a choice I can intentionally make, rather than getting blasted with a firehose of tragedies happening all across the globe.

This decision has left me feeling more grounded, more at peace, and less prone to practicing judgment or stoking arguments. I don’t see everything through a political lens anymore. Sure, I still have my convictions and opinions on certain issues, but I’m now able to engage with others human to human as opposed to Democrat to Republican.

Again, I’m not promoting a complete detachment from society and all the goings on, or a lack of action entirely. Voting, donating, and other forms of activism are important, especially for the issues you care about. But there is a way to have a thoughtful and healthy interaction with world events — one with boundaries and limits. After all, we are finite beings with a finite capacity for information, especially of the negative kind.

Instead, let’s fill our limited time dwelling on life-giving things, as Paul urges us to do in Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”

What About You?

Have you also reduced your news intake? What benefits have you seen?