Stop Reading the News
by Rolf Dobelli · first published 2020
73% recommend27% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Argues that daily news harms both understanding of the world and mood, and makes a case for cutting it out. It offers a clear rationale for dropping news habits and suits readers overloaded by headlines.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
News is to the mind what sugar is to the body. In 2013 Rolf Dobelli stood in front of a roomful of journalists and proclaimed that he did not read the news. It caused a riot. Now he finally sets down his philosophy in detail. And he practises what he preaches: he hasn't read the news for a decade. Stop Reading the News is Dobelli's manifesto about the dangers of the most toxic form of information - news. He shows the damage it does to our concentration and well-being, and how a misplaced sense of duty can misdirect our behaviour. From the author of the bestselling The Art of Thinking Clearly,
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Stop Reading the News. Hook that in with The Subtle Art of Not giving a fuck, and finish with Turning the Mind into an Ally, and I find reflecting on all three has helped me to focus on what's important. I no longer waste…
on “Ask HN: Any interesting books you have read lately?” ↗Made the same comment yesterday on another submission but it still fits this discussion. I suggest people who read a lot of news to read up on Rolf Dobelli's book named Stop Reading the news. I found it an eye-opener and have since blocked all news websites on every device. Currently 3 weeks without a newspaper and I don't feel I am missing a thing. The best chapters were the ones were…
on “The Fandomization of News” ↗I recommend book "Stop reading the news" by Rolf Dobelli. To put it short, daily news are bad for you. Especially and including your understanding of the world. (Yes, I am still addicted, but trying to work myself out.)
on “Ask HN: Is it just me? why is “news” so addictive?” ↗A book that opened my eyes is Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life by Rolf Dobelli.
on “I Am Deleting the Blog” ↗yea like this book: "Stop Reading The News" https://www.dobelli.com/en/books/ (It is based on the article by the same author: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/apr/12/news-is-bad-ro...)
Go and read "Stop reading the news" by Rolf Dobelli. No, you do not miss anything with any news source, but but you may want to take steps to avoid being in only this one echo chamber.
on “Ask HN: Is it even worth reading news outside of HN?” ↗I suggest people who read a lot of news to read up on Rolf Dobelli's book named Stop Reading the news. I found it an eye-opener and have since blocked all news websites on every device. Currently 3 weeks without a newspaper and I don't feel I am missing a thing. The best chapters were the ones were…
on “Let Go” ↗Can recommend Rolf Dobelli's "Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life"
on “Ask HN: What level of news do you need and not need?” ↗Rolf Dobelli wrote an excellent book on this topic called "Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life". He addresses directly many of the objections raised in these comments.
on “I Stopped Following the News” ↗There is a great book about this from Rolf Dobelli "Stop Reading The News" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48581422-stop-reading-th...
on “I Stopped Following the News” ↗…fins treat arthritis.",,, "We need to go on an informational diet. We need to become more discerning with what we want to know and what we need to know." END FTFA IOW follow Rolf Dobelli's advice and "Stop reading the news!": https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Reading-News-information-overloa...
on “The War Against Misinformation Is Over. The Lies Won” ↗I recommend checking out "Stop reading the news" by Rolf Dobelli.
on “Why won’t some people pay for news?” ↗Nothing. There is Stop Reading the News by Rolf Dobelli [1] [1] https://www.dobelli.com/en/books/
on “Ask HN: What do you want from the news?” ↗Rolf Dobelli [0] wrote a few columns on Avoiding News Consumption and will publish a book later this year with the title Stop Reading the News: How to cope with the information overload and think more clearly. In 2011 he wrote an essay Quit the News in Dutch NRC Next newspaper[1]. The next day the withdrawals poured in :-) [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Dobelli#Avoid_News_Cons...…
on “Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life” ↗Stop Reading the News: A Manifesto for a Happier, Calmer and Wiser Life book: https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Reading-News-information-overloa... TL;DR: a PDF: https://gwern.net/doc/culture/2010-dobelli.pdf Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21430337
on “Do you avoid the news? You’re in growing company” ↗