news hound

There was a time in my past where I could never get enough news. I was a junkie for news. I subscribed to 16 news magazines a month, I read the papers daily and scoured the Internet for more news. I am sure I knew as much or more about what was going around in the world than most people.

Now I don't watch TV catch up on a weeks newspapers all in one go as I don't get any here and am completely ignorant of what is going on in the world. I don't even listen to the radio. I am sure few people will say now that I am in the real world.

Actually, I don't think I miss anything. News of bomb plots, murders, accidents, deaths of famous people, celebrity gossip, latest new gadgets, seem to me what dominates news, and sells papers and attracts viewers. My life is no better or worse for lack of information about them.

I honestly feel that other topics that don't fall into the above are just common sense. Actually there is no need to know anything. News, once all the layers of skin are peeled is just another form of entertainment I can do without. I can choose a more satisfying form of entertainment instead.

It is amazing therefore to think that something I felt I could not do without is almost irrelevant now. I can carry myself in company without knowing the latest news because I have things that I can talk about that others find even more interesting. So my lack of knowledge on the latest topic is not a hindrance.

It is therefore a wake up call to know that what we feel we cannot do without can often be discarded with no repercussions and sometimes for the better.