Giving up reading news will make us happier
It's not just news. I cut out mainstream media several years ago, and noted a definite improvement in my psychological well-being.<p>As of the end of last year, I stopped engaging in mainstream social media. So much better.<p>I still keep a Facebook account for Messenger and Events, but don't post, read timelines, or participate.<p>Not only do I have more time to read books and learn new things -- made pita bread from scratch for the first time this week -- but I am in general, notably happier and more focused.<p>I suspect that information hygiene is going to be one of the great underrated skills of the digital age.<p>Hacker News is an exception that I indulge in maybe once a week or two -- today's the day! -- as most of what ends up on here is worthwhile, and the moderation team has done an <i>excellent</i> job of keeping the signal-to-noise ratio high.<p>Quora also tends to be good, between Be Nice Be Respectful (BNBR), and the Real Name policy, although they recently went downhill by interleaving the standard cesspool that is mainstream news in the Quora feed.<p>Reddit... there are a few gold nuggets (/r/writingprompts), but overall it's just a crapfest.