2016 I stopped all TV viewing of news, especially political. I can read what I want. I only turn on TV when its around the election day and follow results and then its off. I do not even watch local news any more and life is 1000% greatly improved.
Anytime I see anything about American politics I just skip and go to the next thing..
Sad thing is you literally can’t fucking go anywhere without people talking about American politics .. It’s like a fucking curse on the rest of the world.
I don’t even pay it any mind anymore. At this point, whatever happens, happens. It’s nothing I can do about it so it is what it is. As far as I’m concerned, I’m fucked regardless of who’s in office
I don’t watch tv, I mute keywords so they never come across my feed or I click that I’m not interested. For my own mental health I find something else to occupy my mind
Ignore the news & media for awhile. Difficult because we are faced daily with high grocery costs etc and it’s a constant reminder of how we have been screwed by a system that has been greedy, self serving & incompetent.
It’s hard to get away from it since it all directly affects my life, and sticking my head in the sand won’t give me the heads-up I’ll need is something else horrible happens. Started picking up video games again. Escaping into another world helps.
Close this app lmao. Reddit has become such a hive mind of One Singular political agenda, and it is bleeding into every aspect of this website. I know it was bad before, don’t get me wrong, but holy shit is this a new level of insufferable. Go read a book, go learn pick up a hobby, I started learning Morse code a couple weeks ago! I’m actually getting surprisingly good. Do stuff like that.
The vast majority of Americans don’t pay attention to politics, this website will have you believing the world is burning down, but if you two now it’s all the noise, turns out life is still going on.
There’s a lot of it, but media coverage is selective. What’s happening in the United States, of course. But other things, such as Gaza. And on a lesser scale, in Britain, the Labour government, nominally on the left, is cutting support to the elderly and disabled rather than tax the rich. This is, of course, pushing up support for the Reform party, a sort of sub-Maga populism. For anyone with eyes the trajectory looks bad.
So, what do I do? I try to reduce my reading. But I have the problem that I am, by profession, a historian, and I’ve studied and taught twentieth century authoritarianism. So it’s hard to just ignore. I’ve read a lot of nasty stuff about the past, of course.
I read books, especially old books. Stories by O. Henry. Some 19th century fiction. Graham Greene, perhaps oddlyAlso funny books. I have my favourites. And DVDs of film and TV, especially classics. The original Mission Impossible, for example. Airplane. SF especially the less serious. Independence Day is enjoyable if you just go with it. I like Millennium (1989( though most people don’t. Etc.
YouTube. Old SNL – I’m not an American but I can appreciate a lot of it. Land Shark. The Delicious Dish, on NPR. (Actually not the double entendre ones so much as the sheer festival-of-boring ones)
I really don’t have a choice – I have to pay attention due to the work my organization does. But, when I get home from work, I play a game on my phone or read a book and disconnect from all social media before bed. It is incredibly stressful, but necessary.
As an European teacher of sociology and politics:
I understand the pain and the stress caused by the current political situation. I have a lot of empathy for what you are going through as a nation. However:
This is not the time to unplug. This is a time where anger is rational, but needs to be channeled into constructive actions. This is the time to be vigilant and make difficult personal sacrifices to fight back. You are in the middle of a hostile coup with the risk of losing your freedoms and democracy. They are going after marginalized groups first, but thats not because they actually “care” about what happens to these groups. (Immigrants, LGBT, elderly, poor, sick, etc) This is to erode everyone’s rights and to expand and consentrate power to the presidency.
Therefore: fight for the weaker groups. Their cause is now inherently universal. Go to town-hall meetings. Pressure your representatives and politicians: local and federal. Protest. Spread information. Threaten. Unionize. Use civil disobedience. Escalate.
Don’t unplug and decompress. Find out how you can help saving your country.
Pretty easily but I’m not in the UK. It’s kind of like when COVID hit, for the first 6-8 weeks it just took over my life, I didn’t even really realise at the time but I’d wake up, news on the TV, then on the radio into work, then meetings at work about how we are going to deal with it, risk assessment, buying masks and PPE, then leaving work radio again, then on the TV all night. I of course reached a point of just being totally overwhelmed and so I made a point of distractions. I think that’s my best advice, distract yourself from it, got offline, go for a walk, stick on a movie, have a bath, make a big meal and enjoy it whilst listening to a CD of your favourite artist.
I don’t because looking away could potentially mean death for people like me. It’s crazy as a history major how much what’s going on now parallels the world in the 1920s and 30s, and the short sightedness of people who are saying “oh no, hearing about tariffs and genocides and people being brainwashed into a death cult is bothering me” is so petty as to make you want to cry in despair or laugh hysterically.
Boondocks moment: “Wait a minute, I’m not American!” and go on my merry day.
All jokes aside, I’ve basically quit all social media, unless Reddit, which I dont count as social media as I have no sort of relationships here, and Youtube. Less online shit, more offline shit. I did do the meme and touched grass.
Get off Reddit, actually any social media. Reddit is infested with US politics – there’s literally not way to use it anymore, without stumbling upon something US politics related every 5th post. And Facebook is infested with politics from my own country, which unfortunatly has started having similar levels of stupidity and fanatism to the US politics. I’ve deleted Twitter and Instagram and I never used TikTok and never will. I rarely use Facebook nowadays, haven’t posted in years. I just wish I could quit Reddit as well. But beside the fact that it’s still pretty interesting, I’ve started being afraid I’ll be behind with the news and that something awful will happen without me finding out about it – so I keep using it, and couldn’t even bring myself to unsubcribe from the subs that feature too much politics.
Turn off the news. I deleted all social media but Reddit and I took Reddit off my phones. To actually tune out, I just don’t check or Reddit, or if I do, don’t use the main feed but just my subreddits. I need a day or two off every now and then.
Id love to, but American politics is chasing around my wife. She was a human rights lawyer funded by USAID then that got canceled. Then she got a job at an elite university, then that funding got cancelled and she lost that job too. Now she’s interviewing at environmental NGOs who are about to lose their funding due to an executive order revoking the NGO status.
It’s easy to unplug. Just turn off any feeds, stay away from social media, stop watching news. That’s just an act of willpower and a decision to avoid something that is both tasty and contaminated.
There’s also a middle ground, which is trickier and requires some thought. Everybody should have a red line in a deteriorating situation where you should have a plan of action when the line is crossed. And there may be some early preparations that are needed as part of the plan. The key phrase is: when the line is crossed. Not: we’re headed in the direction of the line. Not: we’re on a slippery slope toward the line. Not: hey, we’re getting pretty close to the line. Instead it is: when the line is crossed. This requires three mental actions: 1) deciding what the red line(s) is (are), 2) preparing a plan even if it’s never needed, 3) choosing not to fret until the line is actually crossed. I’ve made my own personal decisions here, and this has helped a lot in dismissing a lot of the noise.
I got really obsessed with a procedural TV show over the last six months and got into the fandom and everything. It worked great as a distraction until one of the main characters died (after seasons of surviving all kinds of ridiculous stuff) so now idk, I guess I’ll keep smoking.
For the past few months, when I needed to tune out current events I just focused on planning our Disney trip. But we just got back from that on Saturday, so now I’m not so sure.
Chess has become a great way for me to unplug because to be good at it requires an extreme amount of attention and your brain will literally not focus on anything else in the middle of a game.
I avoid it like the plague. I stay off the news sites, Facebook, etc. Covid broke my brain. I was hyper focused on the news. I can’t go thru that again. Husband I watch the national news at 6:30pm and that’s it.
If something really awful happens my mom will call me to chat about it. Lol!
I binge watch shows on streaming, I read, I play with the dog.
Comments
I watch AntsCanada on YouTube
Gamble on sports.
Turn off reddit
It’s just “trump trump trump” here
Anytime I see anything about American politics I just skip and go to the next thing..
Sad thing is you literally can’t fucking go anywhere without people talking about American politics .. It’s like a fucking curse on the rest of the world.
I am 72 years old and developed selective hearing. I also only watch professional tennis on tv.
Read fiction – or maybe watch car crash videos.
Watch America’s Test Kitchen, no politics, no stupid competitions, just instructional cooking for delicious looking food.
I don’t even pay it any mind anymore. At this point, whatever happens, happens. It’s nothing I can do about it so it is what it is. As far as I’m concerned, I’m fucked regardless of who’s in office
What political stuff?
I don’t watch tv, I mute keywords so they never come across my feed or I click that I’m not interested. For my own mental health I find something else to occupy my mind
unsubscribe from every politics channel/source! when I want it ill reach out for it.
stay off social media. lol
Go for a walk or a hike, it’s meditative and good for the soul.
Nudes in my inbox.
stay off my phone
Ignore the news & media for awhile. Difficult because we are faced daily with high grocery costs etc and it’s a constant reminder of how we have been screwed by a system that has been greedy, self serving & incompetent.
I don’t. I can regularly consume political news and it does not bother me.
Brooklyn 99
Scroll through dog videos like it’s my full-time job. Works better than meditation.
It’s hard to get away from it since it all directly affects my life, and sticking my head in the sand won’t give me the heads-up I’ll need is something else horrible happens. Started picking up video games again. Escaping into another world helps.
Close this app lmao. Reddit has become such a hive mind of One Singular political agenda, and it is bleeding into every aspect of this website. I know it was bad before, don’t get me wrong, but holy shit is this a new level of insufferable. Go read a book, go learn pick up a hobby, I started learning Morse code a couple weeks ago! I’m actually getting surprisingly good. Do stuff like that.
The vast majority of Americans don’t pay attention to politics, this website will have you believing the world is burning down, but if you two now it’s all the noise, turns out life is still going on.
I don’t pay attention to any of it. I don’t vote, I don’t care about politics. Not my problem and not my concern is the way I see it.
Watch trashy TV and build my Legos lol….laugh all yah want but its a good time 😅
I read
I tend to avoid political stuff like the plague.
Avoid and ignore
Get off the internet
There’s a lot of it, but media coverage is selective. What’s happening in the United States, of course. But other things, such as Gaza. And on a lesser scale, in Britain, the Labour government, nominally on the left, is cutting support to the elderly and disabled rather than tax the rich. This is, of course, pushing up support for the Reform party, a sort of sub-Maga populism. For anyone with eyes the trajectory looks bad.
So, what do I do? I try to reduce my reading. But I have the problem that I am, by profession, a historian, and I’ve studied and taught twentieth century authoritarianism. So it’s hard to just ignore. I’ve read a lot of nasty stuff about the past, of course.
I read books, especially old books. Stories by O. Henry. Some 19th century fiction. Graham Greene, perhaps oddlyAlso funny books. I have my favourites. And DVDs of film and TV, especially classics. The original Mission Impossible, for example. Airplane. SF especially the less serious. Independence Day is enjoyable if you just go with it. I like Millennium (1989( though most people don’t. Etc.
YouTube. Old SNL – I’m not an American but I can appreciate a lot of it. Land Shark. The Delicious Dish, on NPR. (Actually not the double entendre ones so much as the sheer festival-of-boring ones)
Walk my dogs. A couple hours on a primitive trail works wonders.
What political stuff
Same way you “unplug” from anything in the news. Turn it off, go outside, involve yourself in hobbies. Reading or gaming are my main go-tos.
I really don’t have a choice – I have to pay attention due to the work my organization does. But, when I get home from work, I play a game on my phone or read a book and disconnect from all social media before bed. It is incredibly stressful, but necessary.
Kill zombies.
Play FreeCell
Drugs.
Go and have a look at r/pics and enjoy the beautiful images /s
Factorio
I block it all. I used to be obsessed with politics, now I stay away for my own mental health.
As an European teacher of sociology and politics:
I understand the pain and the stress caused by the current political situation. I have a lot of empathy for what you are going through as a nation. However:
This is not the time to unplug. This is a time where anger is rational, but needs to be channeled into constructive actions. This is the time to be vigilant and make difficult personal sacrifices to fight back. You are in the middle of a hostile coup with the risk of losing your freedoms and democracy. They are going after marginalized groups first, but thats not because they actually “care” about what happens to these groups. (Immigrants, LGBT, elderly, poor, sick, etc) This is to erode everyone’s rights and to expand and consentrate power to the presidency.
Therefore: fight for the weaker groups. Their cause is now inherently universal. Go to town-hall meetings. Pressure your representatives and politicians: local and federal. Protest. Spread information. Threaten. Unionize. Use civil disobedience. Escalate.
Don’t unplug and decompress. Find out how you can help saving your country.
Dinr need to, don’t pay attention
Pretty easily but I’m not in the UK. It’s kind of like when COVID hit, for the first 6-8 weeks it just took over my life, I didn’t even really realise at the time but I’d wake up, news on the TV, then on the radio into work, then meetings at work about how we are going to deal with it, risk assessment, buying masks and PPE, then leaving work radio again, then on the TV all night. I of course reached a point of just being totally overwhelmed and so I made a point of distractions. I think that’s my best advice, distract yourself from it, got offline, go for a walk, stick on a movie, have a bath, make a big meal and enjoy it whilst listening to a CD of your favourite artist.
I don’t watch the news. Helps a lot!
Started watching One Piece. Figure it should take me about four years.
Mainly fanfiction.
I light incense, put on relaxing music, then put a pillow over my head and for 30 interrupted minutes repeatedly scream the phrase “MOTHER FUCKER!!”
Periodically, listen to music instead of the news. And I’m a news junkie.
I watch reaction videos o YouTube.
I don’t because looking away could potentially mean death for people like me. It’s crazy as a history major how much what’s going on now parallels the world in the 1920s and 30s, and the short sightedness of people who are saying “oh no, hearing about tariffs and genocides and people being brainwashed into a death cult is bothering me” is so petty as to make you want to cry in despair or laugh hysterically.
Play games and browse shitposting subs
Boondocks moment: “Wait a minute, I’m not American!” and go on my merry day.
All jokes aside, I’ve basically quit all social media, unless Reddit, which I dont count as social media as I have no sort of relationships here, and Youtube. Less online shit, more offline shit. I did do the meme and touched grass.
Get off Reddit, actually any social media. Reddit is infested with US politics – there’s literally not way to use it anymore, without stumbling upon something US politics related every 5th post. And Facebook is infested with politics from my own country, which unfortunatly has started having similar levels of stupidity and fanatism to the US politics. I’ve deleted Twitter and Instagram and I never used TikTok and never will. I rarely use Facebook nowadays, haven’t posted in years. I just wish I could quit Reddit as well. But beside the fact that it’s still pretty interesting, I’ve started being afraid I’ll be behind with the news and that something awful will happen without me finding out about it – so I keep using it, and couldn’t even bring myself to unsubcribe from the subs that feature too much politics.
Cat posts, and humour.
I draw angels killing monsters
I get off Reddit because somehow someone on here will take a post about puppies and make it about how Trump is destroying America in the comments
I play Valheim.
Watch movies. Play video games.
The plan going forward is The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Gaming, specifically MMOs and every Friday night, the D&D group getting together.
Balancing it with good news and optimistic viewpoints like on r/upliftingnews and r/optimistsunite as well as redirecting my attention to other things (I’ve currently taken up reading through the list of 100 books to read before you die: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/137197.100_Books_to_Read_Before_You_Die_The_Ultimate_List).
Turn off the news. I deleted all social media but Reddit and I took Reddit off my phones. To actually tune out, I just don’t check or Reddit, or if I do, don’t use the main feed but just my subreddits. I need a day or two off every now and then.
Get off of social media. They are huge echo chambers that try to invoke “feelings” good or bad.
Id love to, but American politics is chasing around my wife. She was a human rights lawyer funded by USAID then that got canceled. Then she got a job at an elite university, then that funding got cancelled and she lost that job too. Now she’s interviewing at environmental NGOs who are about to lose their funding due to an executive order revoking the NGO status.
3D print / paint Warhammer minis
I search out TV programs/movies that have karmic justice, gives me hope that some “karmic” justice will be applied to the Trump regime/fiasco.
Simple. Put down the phone and go outside.
Hike in the woods. Bike ride. Kayak. VR games.
It’s easy to unplug. Just turn off any feeds, stay away from social media, stop watching news. That’s just an act of willpower and a decision to avoid something that is both tasty and contaminated.
There’s also a middle ground, which is trickier and requires some thought. Everybody should have a red line in a deteriorating situation where you should have a plan of action when the line is crossed. And there may be some early preparations that are needed as part of the plan. The key phrase is: when the line is crossed. Not: we’re headed in the direction of the line. Not: we’re on a slippery slope toward the line. Not: hey, we’re getting pretty close to the line. Instead it is: when the line is crossed. This requires three mental actions: 1) deciding what the red line(s) is (are), 2) preparing a plan even if it’s never needed, 3) choosing not to fret until the line is actually crossed. I’ve made my own personal decisions here, and this has helped a lot in dismissing a lot of the noise.
I got really obsessed with a procedural TV show over the last six months and got into the fandom and everything. It worked great as a distraction until one of the main characters died (after seasons of surviving all kinds of ridiculous stuff) so now idk, I guess I’ll keep smoking.
Last night I got out the emergency Duncan Hines and baked a pan of brownies.
The autism registry and cancelation of the LGBTQ suicide hotline funding had me rattled.
Take a walk in nature without phone
For the past few months, when I needed to tune out current events I just focused on planning our Disney trip. But we just got back from that on Saturday, so now I’m not so sure.
I go on Reddit
Not watching it in the first place.
Chess has become a great way for me to unplug because to be good at it requires an extreme amount of attention and your brain will literally not focus on anything else in the middle of a game.
I avoid it like the plague. I stay off the news sites, Facebook, etc. Covid broke my brain. I was hyper focused on the news. I can’t go thru that again. Husband I watch the national news at 6:30pm and that’s it.
If something really awful happens my mom will call me to chat about it. Lol!
I binge watch shows on streaming, I read, I play with the dog.