What happened when I stopped constantly checking the news

In December I wrote about the ways that my phone makes me anxious, a mind dump about the anxiety that I have related to my phone. In particular I had become hooked on constant news checking throughout the day, scrolling and refreshing, always looking for an update. At my PC I was always clicking over to open a new window full of headlines. 

I had hundreds of different news stories running around in my head, I was wasting a lot of time, and I was feeling the interruption to my concentration every time I even thought about checking the news, let alone actually doing it. 

In January, one of my new habits was to put a firm stop to the obsessive news checking. I wouldn't avoid the news entirely, but the only exceptions were viewing links that had been sent to me directly and only intentional watching of a dedicated news broadcast on television. 

So for the year so far I've not opened up a news app on my phone or accessed a news website through a browser. I've watched an occasional news broadcast and kept up with the headlines through conversations with others and very brief forays into social media. 

What happened?

I didn't miss any important news stories, and nor did I feel like I was missing out. I still heard about the main news stories through conversation with my husband, but I heard about them after the fact, not through constant tiny updates. 

I seemed to have much more time during the day. Cutting down on my Facebook and Twitter time helped with this as well. During this extra time I picked up a book and I created rather than consumed - writing blog posts or working on my craft projects.

My anxiety was definitely lessened. I didn't feel so on edge and I didn't feel so attached to my phone. I usually leave my phone in another room now, and having it out of sight means that I can forget about it.

I feel that my concentration had improved. I have been able to concentrate more easily on longer books. I am also quite happy to just sit and look out the window or stare into space if I find myself with a few minutes to spare.

I'm very happy with this change and I'm really hoping that I can keep it up - I know just how easy it is to get sucked back into addictive smartphone behaviours!

If this is something that you've been thinking about I can recommend this article which really made me think - News is bad for you - and giving up reading it will make you happier.

Photo credit Magnet.me via Unsplash