The news??? oh I have stopped reading , watching and even hearing news long time ago . why?? because I would think.... why the hell is this all happening and why is no one doing anything to stop it ? the result ... ? I would stress myself to the point that I would literally fee angry all the time . And I dont watch shitty TV shows also . they make me angry
Fear porn (political news / politics) is highly addictive for me too, it's very similar to PM for me and much worse! The "information" doesn't benefit me at all. Unfortunately it's very difficult to stay away from these stuff for me, since I'm living in an unstable country. These recent news from Afghanistan added up to all the existing sad news, made me virtually destroyed. Really heartbreaking. So, I was forced to stay away from news again. Fortunately I am almost clean again since a few days ago. I actually made a thread to get help in quitting the fear porn. Any advice would be appreciated.
Everything I see online is depressing. Reddit, news site, youtube. Yet I am still there looking at it because otherwise I have nothing to do. I still managed to cut off news site. At least most of it. I just watch once in a week.
Steven Pinker talks about this phenomenon in some of his talks. He's a very reasonable and smart guy. There are longer versions than what I shared below and it's worth listening to him on many topics, if you are open-minded he will make you think.
News addiction is really bad. I know family members who watch and talk about the news all the time. I think it has to do with the fact that some people are really bored with their lives or something.