I don't necessarily buy every argument in the article which sees our news-saturated lives as "toxic". But I do accept that I generally waste a lot of time on news of dubious value and thought it might be an idea to see how it feels to be news-free.
Actually I got through the week fine with only one or two moments of weakness, the main lapse occurring on a flight to Spain when they handed me a free Daily Mail and I couldn't resist the sports section.
But essentially I did go news free. First consideration - did I miss anything? I still saw headlines occasionally and people talk, so I got the gist of the big things going on. So I didn't feel in the dark or ignorant.
I did miss my news fix at certain times of the day when part of my routine involves news consumption e.g. looking at sports and finance websites when I eat my lunch. I read more of my book instead but there are times when you just want to browse or flick through something.
Were there any positive benefits? The article talks about too much news inhibiting your mental capacities, especially concentration and memory. I can't say I noticed any positive side effects along these lines, although maybe a week isn't long enough to notice the effect.
All in all, the week taught me that I could quite easily survive with less news in my life. In future I will cut out any aimless browsing and viewing and just check out a few news articles a day at the times which suit me. I suspect the main benefit is that I will get through more books.
From our website - Spanish non resident taxes
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