Couldn't Look Away

I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard this confession, or something very similar, in the last few months.

I have to check in with (insert favorite cable news channel here) every day, because so much is happening that I’m afraid I’m going to miss something. When I start watching, I can’t stop. Even though I know I’m just listening to the same things over and over again, I keep hoping I’m going to hear something that will help me feel better about what’s going on. But it never gets better, and I keep watching.

I completely understand. “Advocacy journalism,” which has both helped to create and benefited from a highly polarized political environment, has become a powerfully addictive consumer product. Millions of Americans spend hours in front of the television getting their fix. The “news” typically amounts to one or two significant stories that you can digest in a few minutes. But advocacy journalism has managed to create the false impression that news is breaking all the time, and if you turn away, you’ll miss it. In reality, what is treated as news is what somebody said aboutthe news. The news is the news, dissected, re-packaged, and repeated by different talking heads. This phenomenon used to be limited to the right side of the political spectrum, first mastered by the Fox News Network. Now, it’s an industry that covers every partisan and ideological perspective.

I’m hearing confessions like the one above more frequently now, because more and more people are realizing that, in their effort to better understand what’s happening, they have fallen into an addiction. They are beginning to look critically at their own TV viewing habits, trying to discern the difference between staying informed and drowning in partisan claptrap.

I was reminded of this media addiction – this inability to “look away” – when I was outside yesterday. Our stubborn, lingering winter has finally given way to a gorgeous Spring, and on sunny warm days, lots of us have been getting outside – working in our yards, walking, biking, or just sitting on the deck with a good book.

Yesterday was one of those days. I strapped on my backpack of camera supplies and rode my bike to Onondaga Lake. I followed the lake outlet up to the Seneca River, then doubled back and rode the West End trail to the fairgrounds terminus. I rode at a leisurely pace, trying to identify all the birdcalls. I stopped to watch yellow warblers, tree swallows and Baltimore Orioles racing from tree to tree. I spotted a turtle sunning on deadwood then slipping off into the water. I noticed a sandpiper, a variety of fowl I haven’t seen before at Onondaga Lake.

The most memorable moment of the afternoon was at an overlook between Nine Mile Creek and the Amphitheater. Just below me, a Great Blue Heron was fishing. When he had had his fill, he began slowly but deliberately making his way along the shore, passing geese and ducks that were nesting and bathing. Further out, an Egret stood statuesque in the shallow waters of a sandbar, surrounded by several varieties of seagulls. Overhead, a pair of Osprey flew majestically, occasionally diving vertically into the water and ascending just as quickly with fish in their talons.

The longer I surveyed this wondrous scene, the more captivated I became. I lost track of time. I couldn’t look away.

When I eventually became aware of how long I had been standing in that one spot, I thought to myself, “This is not compulsive; it’s contemplative.” As I was riding back home, I reflected on how many people had shared with me recently that they “couldn’t stop watching” cable news, even though it only left them anxious and frustrated. (Actually, that’s the point. If it brought you peace, you wouldn’t feel compelled to watch it any longer.) Watching a panorama of wildlife, on the other hand, gave me a sense of fullness and gratitude.

So if you know you are suffering from “news compulsion,” I recommend the contemplation of nature. It’s all around you, and it’s beautiful to behold. It is captivating in a way that is never addictive. Rather than anxiety-producing, it is life-giving.

 

©2018 by J. Mark Lawson

 

Comments

[Michael Salamone]

Great reflections and great pictures, Mark. I, too, at times was becoming addicted to the Advocacy Journalism. Some months ago, Rosemary and I decided to scrap cable TV and use an antenna and Amazon Firestick for our entertainment with the major reason to get away from the likes of cable endless "news". I honestly have not missed it. I keep informed by listening to NPR, reading the Washington Post online, and reading other sources. When I really "need" to watch a sporting event, I can stream it on my computer. Hopefully, I can keep to this for some time. Love your observations along Onondaga Lake.