Thelma Kestner ’29 is an international relations major and history minor. She is involved in Young Independents, Vinyl Tap, WCWM, Theodore Roosevelt Society and Phi Mu. Contact her at tekestner@wm.edu.
The views expressed in the article are the author’s own.
Over winter break, the amount of news, and the weight of it, has been overwhelming. In January alone (as I write this), the United States has seized Venezuela, captured President Nicolás Maduro and is attempting to take Greenland. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is brutalizing Minnesota, terrorizing American citizens and even killing them. Plus, to end the month, we got a batch of Epstein Files which are truly horrendous. For me, and I think for numerous other people, seeing a “breaking news” notification from a news source is followed with a loud sigh. Another event happening? And it’s only January?
Of course, access to the news is easier than ever; with our devices, we can stay up-to-date and educated on what’s happening in the world. What a double-edged sword. Quickly, in the technological age, one can become engulfed in the waves of breaking news. This also doesn’t account for the misinformation spread or the battleground some comment sections become if news, or opinions on the news, are posted. Yet, life has its gray areas; finding equilibrium for your consumption of the news and political content is one of them.
With this gray area existing, there is one thing here for clarification. As mentioned above, access to the news is just a click or search away, and it quickly becomes daunting. However, being willfully ignorant, proclaiming “Oh, I don’t do politics” is a reflection of yourself, of your compliance in tumultuous times. Being involved, whether it be continuously educating yourself and others on situations actively happening, joining a political group on campus or both are methods to avoid the extreme sides of the blissful ignorance and constant consumption of doom.
The best remedy for not becoming swamped in the immediate, perpetual, mostly unfortunate breaking news is taking a break from letting yourself actively consume the news when it comes through as a notification. This is subjective on how you perceive ‘taking a break,’ whether it be putting your phone on Do Not Disturb, only consuming the news a couple of times a day or even just turning off your phone completely. But this isn’t always a viable option, for example, if you’re in a class which recommends keeping up with the news. Adjusting your focus onto different classes for their assignments, readings or projects is not only utilizing your energy better (try this along with avoiding The Washington Post or other news sources and use this throughout the semester), but also helps the news consumption burnout.
Another method of disconnecting from constant consumption is to interact with your surrounding environment (in this case, campus). Getting involved in organizations, being around your friends, revisiting old hobbies or the classic response of going outside and touching grass are ways to pull your head out of the digital world. Some of my favorite methods are going with my friends to Commons Dining Hall for dinner, walking around campus or Colonial Williamsburg, journaling or participating in a weekly club meeting for a change of pace. Interacting with the environment around you not only gives you the ability to touch grass, but also alleviates the whole dooming feeling that occurs when the only thing being consumed is hell.
Taking care of yourself in these times is extremely important. Getting off your devices or turning on Do Not Disturb are approaches to self-care. Making some form of routine, which doesn’t have to be extensive, can be a way to let yourself decompress at the end of the day from school, stress and what this piece is about, the constant stream of news coming in at all times. Something small, such as writing about your day in a physical or digital journal, going to the gym a couple of times per week, creating a skincare routine, meditating, along with so many more forms of self care. In uncertainty, showing up for yourself first is not only important for being able to function properly as a student, but also as an advocate for others.
Overall, your sanity is important to maintain as the days seem to somehow get more insane. Finding a balance between how much you allow yourself to not only consume, but react to, is essential when news comes in quick, continuous notifications. I hope all of you reading this are practicing something to find your personal equilibrium between the madness, and know it’s okay to put away the devices for a while if need be. Once a notification alert is out there, providing information, it’s out there. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb, it’ll be there in your notification center when you turn it off.
