How to Follow the News Without Going Crazy

Have you ever shared a news story based only on the headline? You are not alone. Studies show that roughly 6 out of 10 links shared on social media are passed along by people who never clicked to read the full article. This creates a huge problem. It means our feeds are filled with reactions to headlines, not facts from the story. Staying informed means getting past the title and understanding what is actually being reported.

Following the news can feel like drinking from a fire hose. It is overwhelming, often negative, and can leave you feeling anxious. The solution is not to tune out completely, but to develop news literacy — the skill of evaluating information so you can stay informed without losing your mind.Here is what you need to know:Every source has a bias. Bias is not necessarily a bad thing; it is just a point of view. A news organization's perspective is shaped by its owners, its audience, and its writers. The key is not to find a source with zero bias (it does not exist), but to read from multiple sources to get a fuller picture.News is not opinion. A news article reports what happened, using evidence and named sources. An opinion piece argues for what should happen. Many people confuse the two, wh...

Kwame, 19, noticed a pattern. After 30 minutes on his phone reading the news, he always felt angry and anxious. His feed was a constant stream of outrage, and it was exhausting. He realized he only followed commentators and sources that confirmed what he already believed. It felt good to be proven right, but it was making him miserable. He decided to try an experiment. For one month, he intentionally followed three new sources: one from a different political perspective, one from another country, and one that focused on long, investigative articles. At first, it was uncomfortable. He disagreed with a lot of what he read. But slowly, he realized he understood the issues on a much deeper level. He could finally see why people held different views, even if he did not share them. Kwame learned...