Do you ever have that feeling of being overwhelmed by all the information coming in from the Media?
Information is a source of learning. But unless it is organized, processed, and available to the right people in a format for decision making, it is a burden, not a benefit.
– William Pollard
I have that feeling right now while I’m visiting my parents at home. Especially because the radio is switched on almost the whole day, everywhere my dad is. I’m not used to that because I never listen to Radio, if I want to listen to some music, I would turn on my playlist at Amazon Music Unlimited without ads.
All that information and noise comes in the whole time: ads, news, and weather every half an hour, and other things they talk about. So many people are listening to the radio the whole day at work and I get it if some people say they are more productive with music. But the radio is not just music anymore.
I can’t concentrate right now, because the radio is playing everywhere in the house. So I find myself a quiet place and meditate.
Background noise
We can’t hear our own thoughts anymore when listening to the radio the whole time. We just hear the background noise of the radio, the TV, and other media. It distracts us from the real world and our own problems because all we hear are exceptional news or problems from all over the world every half an hour and then we hear what we can buy to make us happier or more beautiful.
We hear the same things every day on the radio because there is nothing new in that half an hour of music and ads. It’s always the same news, the same weather, the same traffic jams, the same ads, and the same music. Every day is the same. Every day we have that background noise.
Radio turned on to be up to date
This thing to let the radio be turned on is a habit from the past, I think. First, when the radio was invented, it was a really important tool to be up to date during the war, it could save lives. And so we (especially my parents and my grandparents) kept this habit to stay up to date so that they know when something terrible is happening.
This habit got passed on by your parents to you and our generation. Now this habit includes checking Instagram and Facebook a few times a day. Even though we know that not much is happening in half an hour and it wouldn’t be even that important to know but we keep checking anyways.
Change the habit of staying up to date
We all have to be more conscious of the information we want to consume. Too much information coming in is not good for us and our thoughts. Our brain thinks those are our thoughts and we get controlled by the media.
We all want our own thoughts and opinions, right? So stop consuming so much media like the radio, TV, ads, newspaper, and social media. We don’t need to know everything that is happening outside. Most of the news is just exceptional circumstances happening like a plane crashing or kids stuck in a hole.
At first, just try to turn off the information income while being at home. Or even an easier step will be to turn off the media you don’t want to hear and switch to an audiobook, a movie, or a video you would like to watch to learn something new. I get your control of the incoming information back. Instead of listening to the radio and the news, look for a documentary, an interesting podcast, or an audiobook to listen to.
Produce more information outcome than income
Don’t let yourself get influenced by the media. You should think and talk about the things you want to talk about and not about the topics the media is telling you about. Form your own opinion and just consume the things you’re interested in and want to talk about.
It’s definitely ok to listen to the news or to read the newspaper but you could just read the topics you’re interested in. Not everything in a newspaper is worth reading or knowing.
Meditation
Meditation is one way of helping us calm down from all the information income every day. It helped me calm down and relax after a day of media consumption. There is so much going on in our lives everywhere and our brains and thoughts need time to relax and process all of it. Especially when we live in the city, we have so much incoming information and noise that we need time every day to calm down and be quiet.
Try it out and start to include meditation in your morning or evening routine. I already wrote about forming a habit here. Do it every day to relax your brain and thoughts.
Especially when you’re annoyed by the noise and information income once in a while, then take a deep breath, close your eyes, and meditate (like listening and counting your breath). Don’t get overwhelmed by the media, it’s not healthy.
Just try it out to switch off the devices and see how relaxing life can be.
When you’re a kid, you lay in the grass and watch the clouds going over, and you literally don’t have a thought in your mind. It’s purely meditation, and we lose that. – Dick Van Dyke
Thanks for reading!
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