The moment Trump was sworn in the news cycle sped up, massively. Prior to January 20, 2025 news moved fast but what we’re currently experiencing is a whole new rhythm. A month post-inauguration, it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Which begs the question, how do we keep up? How do we stay informed… is it even possible?
Instead of ‘how do we keep up’ maybe we should ask, can we, followed by should we even try?
At this rate you’d be hard pressed to keep up with the current pace of information without it consuming your life and though some people do, I don’t know anyone who actually desires to live and die by the news cycle. While it’s impossible to ‘keep up’ without being consumed, we absolutely can stay informed to the extent that it’s beneficial to us which is the only extent to which we need to stay informed.
Drawing that line though can be hard. Discerning what information is worth our while, what information is actually going to help us make better decisions and have better conversations is a challenge.
Here are 3 tips to help you exercise wisdom as you consume media so it doesn’t consume you:
& here’s the link to a podcast episode where we briefly discussed this as well.
TIP #1 Recognize the difference between EDUCATION and ENTERTAINMENT
The majority of us are now getting the majority of our news from nontraditional news sources, most of them filtered through or at least brought to our attention by social media. Social media is a legitimate place to seek information. These platforms are currently playing a very important role; however, because of their design they are also a large source of the overwhelm many of us currently feel as we set out to become and stay “informed.”
When we log onto any social platform, be it X, Instagram or another, we aren’t fully in the driver’s seat. We are shown a combination of what those creating the content have put there for us and what the algorithm has prioritized for us to see… the algorithm, being based on a number of things including the choices we have made in the past. From there we each take hold of the wheel of responsibility, we scroll or stop, we click and go down a rabbit hole or we exit and… it’s easy to fall asleep at the wheel.
…am I being educated or entertained?
One question that has helped me personally spend my time (more) wisely, specifically when it comes to consuming politics and current events on social media, is asking: “am I being educated or entertained?”
When it comes to news and current events it’s really easy to think all information is created equal, that it’s all equally important, relevant and educational. It’s easy to think that anything that involves a public figure or culturally relevant topic would be categorized as educational as in: “I’m being educated and informed on this topic.” But I’d venture to say the vast majority of “information” we consume on social media even when it comes to current events and politics is actually serving the primary purpose of entertainment.
A direct example.
Remember late June 2024 when Joe Biden failed miserably at his debate attempt against Donald Trump? Following the debate commentators spoke daily of Joe Biden’s incompetence (which had already been abundantly obvious to anyone who was paying even the tiniest bit of attention, but that’s not the point here) and they… speculated the outcome. Would he step down? Would he be replaced? Who would the replacement be? … and this went on for just over five weeks. Every day, people gave their opinion, made bets, bickered and discussed in comment sections. Then one day, it just happened, Kamala Harris was appointed to run and that was that. Everyone moved on, completely dropping a once daily conversation to talk about something else.
The thing is, in the scenario above, any participation in the ‘who will replace Joe Biden conversation’ was entertainment. It was speculative in nature as none of us had any bearing on the outcome of the situation and unless you were considering voting for the ideals of the democrat party, depending on the chosen candidate, the conversation had no bearing on helping you make a decision either.
This isn’t to say if you participated in those conversations it was wrong, it’s not. But, in a day and age where we are inundated with news, all of it presented as if your life depends on it, it’s helpful to know when it actually doesn’t.
A lot of conspiracy theories fit into the entertainment category.
Are many of us tricking ourselves when we head down the newest or even oldest rabbit hole? I think so. We think we are spending time well being educated and informed on a topic but for the most part, it’s entertainment. For example, the moon landing… it’s one of the most famously debated conspiracy theories and yet, for most of us, choosing to engage would largely be entertainment.
I’m certain I can actually hear people clicking unfollow now: “Moon landing… entertainment?! How so? Whether or not the government staged it is important stuff!”
Sure, but of what importance is whether or not Americans landed on the moon to me specifically? You might be wondering, how is it not of importance, but hear me out. If we didn’t put a man on the moon, the government conspired massively to deceive not only the American people but also the world and that is important. But, the moon landing aside, I already know our government has lied, conspired and deceived us in other ways. My understanding of landing on the moon doesn’t alter my feelings toward the government. Healthy skepticism and distrust are already in check. Next, how does this directly impact my life? Does the moon landing currently have any direct impact on any decision I need to make for myself or my family? No. Any understanding on either side would not change how I live, make decisions or raise my family, because of that it fits neatly into the entertainment category.
Impact
The main difference between entertainment and education is impact. Do I have the ability to impact the situation and/or how does it impact me? Does what I’m hearing, seeing, reading or learning help me make a decision? Does it help me choose how I will raise my kids, care for my family and interact with the world around me? If I can speak to this issue will it bring justice, correct oppression or lead that way by allowing me to have better conversations or educate someone else?
Impact is a good litmus test.
Being entertained isn’t a bad thing.
Being entertained is not wrong or bad. Some information even fits into both categories (entertainment and education). But at a time when information is abundant to the point of overwhelm it is good to be able to distinguish the difference where there is one. It drastically alters the need to “keep up.” In other words you’ll be, “unburdened by what has been” (I had to, a little humor by way of old news that fit mostly into the entertainment category). The topics you feel obligated to be informed on will drastically decrease and you’ll be free to opt out of things that aren’t imperative.
…and when you do choose to opt in on topics that fit more on the entertainment side it’ll be an active choice. The act of choosing always changes the way things feel. The imaginary weight so many of us are sure we can actually feel will be lifted.
TIP #2 Determine your sphere of influence
I live in small-town Illinois. While I have an online following, no one has given me a direct line to the White House so my influence largely remains: my home, my community (physical) and my community online. The biggest impact I will ever have is on those closest to me, the ones I see every day, my kids. So when it comes to consuming the “news” and choosing what I tune in to, I will most often choose the things that stand to directly impact those I influence without question.
Healthcare, nutrition and home-school topics are things that I am personally passionate about because I am making decisions everyday for the betterment of my family in these areas. I have influence in these areas within my home specifically.
While I do pay a lot of attention to national issues, I don’t individually have much say in the outcome. Locally though, there’s more opportunity for me to make an impact.
Currently, in our immediate area, we have wind projects to battle… again. My time writing letters and attending county board meetings in the neighboring county will be much more likely to make a change than trying to reach out to Trump and tell him how unhappy I am about who he has partnered with for A.I. initiatives.
At the state level, in Illinois we have a new battle on the home-school front against a bill introduced to place new regulations on home-school families. Time spent contacting state representatives and senators will likely go further to benefit my family than time spent on basically any national issue.
If it feels like we’re screaming into the void, that’s because often we are. We spend a lot of time talking about national issues but rarely is anyone with the power to make changes listening to our social media banter. Don’t misunderstand, it’s important to create awareness and attempt to generate change at all levels when an issue is important to us but it’s also important to recognize our sphere of influence, the place where our impact has the greatest potential so that we aren’t missing the opportunities in front of us just to be a part of what has become political pop culture.
It’s important to recognize our sphere of influence, the place where our impact has the greatest potential so that we aren’t missing the opportunities in front of us just to be a part of what has become political pop culture.
There are times we overlook what’s local because what we see most. On social media in particular national issues are the main focus because content creators are focused on topics that include the most people in their audience. National issues are something we can all relate to. But, if we all fixed things locally, we’d be a lot better off as a nation.
TIP #3 Prioritize Foundational information (info that builds a foundation)
Foundational information is the information that builds a foundation. So much time is spent arguing the issue of the day. We study each headline, law, cultural trend… to clarify, I don’t mean “study” in a studious manner I simply mean we spend a great deal of time on specific issues.
Meanwhile, the time we spend building and understanding our foundational beliefs and values is considerably less. How can we possibly have a solid foundation if we spend no time building one and how do we effectively evaluate any information without a solid foundation? If Americans spent more time understanding the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our founding, ethics and where our morals come from the issues of the day would be much easier and less time consuming to sort.
Micro vs. Macro
A visual that might help me convey: micro topic vs. macro topic. Micro topics would be things like DOGE, Stargate, abortion, Fauci, gender and DEI. Things like faith, the Constitution, what it means to be human and morality would fall under macro topics. Micro topics being the individual issues of the day and macro topics the guiding principles we apply when assessing those issues (micro topics).
When the amount of information we are bombarded with daily feels overwhelming it’s helpful to realize many of the headlines we are fed will be irrelevant and, if not irrelevant, at least of little importance often within a matter of days. So it can be beneficial to spend more time engaged in foundational thinking. More philosophical and ethically based conversation will help us to stay sharp with a foundation of beliefs and values to work from. Having a foundational system to work from also aids in faster cognition in this era of rapid fire news.
Consume information instead of it consuming you
All of this is a challenge for me personally. For me, slowing down is actually harder than keeping up. I like to be “in the know,” in fact, I feel responsible to be. I really like to understand the world around me and absolutely hate the thought of being deceived. But, there’s a point in life when you start to sniff out a bit of pride beneath the surface of this mindset. You begin to realize it’s actually impossible to know everything and any quest to do so will leave your spirit exhausted and void of the most beautiful parts of life. Comprehension of your inability to personally create change no matter how knowledgeable you are because some things are simply outside your sphere of influence, starts to reach you and you begin to understand pursuing impact somewhere you were never granted influence may cause you to miss the opportunity to influence and change the very thing(s) God specifically gave you to influence. Eventually, you realize the beauty of contentment and if you do, what a blessing it is.
Recap…
For most of us the news is not our job but we do need to be informed. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the task, these three practical tips can help cut anxiety and give you back some time.
- Recognize the difference between Education and Entertainment
- Determine your sphere of influence
- Prioritize information that builds a foundation
