Does News 24/7 Really Keep You Informed?

Lately I've been thinking about government and politics in general. Ever since the election I've tried to avoid paying too much attention because I find that obsessively gleaning over ever little political happening is bad for the brain. I'm under 30 but I can still remember the days when news was something almost exclusively discussed for a few hours at night on CBS, NBC and ABC. Of course, if you had cable you had CNN and later Fox News, but I don't remember watching them much. I don't watch them now because by choice I don't have a TV.

Nowadays, almost everyone has cable, and the internet, and politics is virtually everywhere, thrust into our face like an obnoxious infomercial product. You can't even surf a social networking site without getting bombarded with political news that will either warm your heart, boil your blood, or something in between. In the good old days, you could count on something irritating you off just in the morning newspaper, then getting on with the rest of your day. Not so now, with 24/7 live news, instant pundit "analysis," new polls, politically-themed news and comedy shows.

While this is sometimes a good thing during election season, other times the overall effect seems to be that it dumbs down political discourse. Politics is no longer something we think seriously about, it's something we emotionally react to, and usually in accordance with our personal philosophy. Don't believe me? Go watch almost any prime time cable news show and count how many times the hosts and the guests interrupt one another, or that debates turn into screaming matches. Debates succumb to regurgitated talking points, one-liners, zingers, and other nonsense, and generally with the final effect of reinforcing your previously held views.

Many Americans like to watch these shows because they feel it keeps them informed. Do they really, though? Here's a little test you can try on yourself that will gauge how helpful these shows really are in keeping you aware. Think of any prime time news show on any of the big cable giants that you watch regularly. It could be Hannity, Olbermann, Maddow, O'Reilly, even Larry King. Now, think of the show you watched just last night. Who was the main guest? What was the primary topic of discussion? List the three top points made by either side.

Can you do any of that? How about with the same show, only two nights ago? Or three nights? How about a show you watched just now? Can you give even a cursory summary of the points discussed in the show? Most importantly, can you give YOUR personal take on the topic? Can you articulate what YOU believe and why?

You could also apply this test to any major website as well. Think of Drudge, Huffington Post, or any other big news aggregate. Can you recall the top afternoon headline from Drudge two days ago? What were three major links on the front page of the Huffington Post?

Here's another test for when you're in the library or around someone who likes to check these sites often. Watch them click on a link from any of those above-mentioned sites. How long do they stay on the page they're directed to? A few seconds, a few minutes? How long do you stay? Long enough just to get the gist of the article, long enough to get a few more details, or long enough to actually read the whole article through?

If you're not able to do the things above, don't be alarmed. This is the same test I used on myself one morning several years ago after I woke up still angry about whatever I'd watched on some cable news show the night before. I think it was The O'Reilly Factor, and topic might have been immigration. However, try as I might, I could not recall any of the points made in the show, only that I was angry about the border situation being out of control. If you had asked me legitimate questions about how to control the American border safely and effectively, I'd have drawn a serious blank. And that would have been because my anger clouded every other part of my brain. It wasn't until much later when I asked myself why continue to watch these so-called news programs if all they do is effectively prevent me from rationally, calmly, and purposefully discussing the news with others? Really, if all these shows do is succeed in pissing you off, what's the point? I realize that O'Reilly is an easy target here, and undoubtedly his show is the feistiest of the cable news bunch, but really they're all just the same in the end.

In the end, the result is people everywhere leave their houses every morning with bits and fragments of political talking points firing around in their head like pin balls. Bereft of a substantive, nuanced understanding of any given topic, the average person is then left to quibble over what little they actually do understand. Effectively, they have become a mental crack addict, incapable of rational, useful dialogue. If pressed, they probably could not articulately explain their positions on virtually anything. But they do know one thing for damn sure; they're pissed off, and someone's to blame for their new-found misery. Who might it be?

Liberals?
Neocons?
Bush?
Obama?
Arabs?
Immigrants?
Hippies?
Environmentalists?
David Letterman?
Mr. Rogers?

Well, certainly not Mr. Rogers. Who could ever get angry at a nice guy like him?

If the same situation has happened to you, it just shows that like many Americans you've simply been subject to this vast sensationalist experiment known as the 24/7 news cycle. This experiment strives to do one thing basically, switch off your reasoning faculties and indulge the more primitive, emotional center of your brain. Really, think of the shows you watch. They are not fact-based, they are emotionally based. They are substance-less, entertainment vehicles designed to plow into your nerve center like shock therapy, leaving you with little understanding of the broader topic at hand except for conveniently placed buzz words and phrases.

This experiment is not limited to cable news. It's everywhere. The internet, magazines, daytime talk shows, perhaps even your workplace. It permeates everything, and it perverts everything too. I'm all for a well-informed citizenry, but that is an ideal. The reality is this persistent politicization has progressively polarized people. But why should it? Unless you have some politically-related job, volunteer for a PAC or candidate, or something similar, what exactly do you gain in emotionally obsessing over the news? What's the point in fighting and screaming about the stimulus package, or the Iraq War, or anything, if you can do nothing to change it and it barely affects your personal life anyway? Yes, politics affects everyone, but so does the weather. So does the sun's electromagnetic field. But you almost never see two people not dressed in white lab coats get into a heated argument over those things. And based on our planet's tumultuous past with those natural events, they far more powerful than any thing government could ever do.

The media is playing you like one of Pavlov's dogs. They keep you watching for the same reason you watch a sports game. It's emotionally thrilling. And hey, it's okay to be an armchair quarterback once in a while. Just so long as you understand that what you're watching isn't news, but entertainment. Watching any of these shows is no different than catching an old episode of Gilligan's Island. Only instead of wondering whether or not the crew will ever get off the island, you're wondering if the two debating sides will ever make a point that doesn't require insulting the opposing side.