Tune Out Almost All Media & Social Media

The enormous health benefits of returning to the physical world of nature, in person contact, and physical books.

A few weeks ago I had the startling realization that I have spent far too much of my adult life watching — and trying to understand — the pathological behavior of the gangster oligarchy that rules the world. Grasping this truth does not mean that I — an investigative reporter and author—am going to stop paying attention to public affairs. I will continue to keep a wary eye on the corrupt oligarchy that runs the world, but I will no longer try to track its every maneuver and abuse of the “We the People,” or try to interpret its every utterance, so many of which are misleading and designed to cloak what our overlords are really doing and planning.

For the last three weeks I have forced myself to spend my mornings (from 7:00 to 11:00) jogging and walking in my local park, studying plants, trees, and birds, and not once looking at my phone.

Look at flowers instead of your phone

During this time, I have strictly avoided the following:

• Looking at a single image or listening to a single utterance by a politician or public official

• Watching a single distressing video clip

• Thinking about the negative aspects of humanity, its vices, and its stupidity

Instead, I have focused my thoughts exclusively the following:

• The wonders of nature

• The artistic achievements and creativity of humanity

• Gratitude for being alive and well in our world in which there are so many beautiful things to contemplate

The results of completely tuning out the media and social media for three weeks have produced the following significant and measurable results.

• Weight loss of four pounds

• Blood pressure dropped from moderate hypertensive to normal

• Feel much calmer and glad to be alive

• Feel far less craving to drink alcohol at end of the day

• Moderate misanthropy replaced by general feeling of affection for people

Tuning out the media and social media for three weeks has given me the same sort of new lease on life that the New York attorney Sheldon (played by Woody Allen) obtains when his nagging and overbearing mother disappears in a magic show in the short film, Oedipus Wrecks. After a brief moment of being confused and distressed, he is astonished by his feeling of liberation and vitality. Instead of being grumpy and oppressed, he feels a surging joy at being alive and in love with his girlfriend, with whom his relationship and sex life dramatically improve.

Sheldon attends magic show in which his nagging mother disappears

Goethe once elegantly remarked that “Ein jeder sieht, was er im Herzen trägt”— that is, “Each one sees what he carries in his heart.”

The trouble with the media and social media is that they populate one’s heart with distressing representations of humanity and the world. Tuning these out makes space in one’s heart for the good things, which enables you to see the world with joy and gratitude.

A good and concerned citizen should continue to seek reliable information about what his government and its gangster cronies are doing — especially when they start making moves to abridge our Constitutional protections. However, being informed should NOT consume more than one hour per day. For a quick overview of the most important stories, read “The Focal Points” newsletter and ignore the rest.

At the end of my three week experiment, I can confidently recommend the following to my readers—especially to my readers who are retired and may be tempted to fill their free time by consuming media:

• Start your day with a morning exercise, sunshine, and fresh air in your local park

• Take a long daily break from your phone and from media and social media

• Instead of thinking about the iniquity and vulgarity of our ruling class, think about the achievements and beautiful creations of humanity

• Instead of texting and video conferencing with people, make an effort to meet a friend or friends for a coffee, a walk, or a meal every day

• Read good physical books instead of online content

Those who are truly dedicated to seeking the light should destroy their televisions. I recommend taking it a rural place and shooting it several times with a 12 gauge shotgun, semi-automatic rifle, or heavy caliber pistol.

The film director, Werner Herzog, built a special demolition car that he used to drive though large piles of televisions at high speeds, but this ritual is probably too expensive and dangerous for most of my readers, so I don’t recommend this special approach to destroying the pestilence of television.