Reading the news is the new smoking
The article compares daily news consumption to smoking, arguing it increases anxiety, distorts risk perception, and offers little value. It suggests quitting news can improve mental well-being and decision-making.
Background
- The article argues that consuming daily news has become a compulsive, anxiety-inducing habit similar to smoking — offering little real value while harming mental health and productivity.
- It draws on the work of the late philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), who wrote about how we are shaped by historical context and "prejudices" (pre-judgments) that we cannot fully escape.
- The author is "Pseudoerasmus," a well-known anonymous blogger on economics and intellectual history who writes the Substack "Experimental History" (not to be confused with historian Daniele Bolelli's podcast of the same name).
- The piece belongs to a growing genre of "news abstention" writing, popularized by figures like Rolf Dobelli (author of "Avoid News") and late-2010s critiques of the attention economy.