DOOM_SCROLL_TV
> INITIATING PROTOCOL: NEWS_OVERLOAD
> SOURCE: 24/7 CABLE NEWS CHANNELS (Multiscreen setup)
> DURATION: 24 HOURS
> HYPOTHESIS: Excessive information intake leads to paralysis.
// HOUR 1-4: INFORMATION INTAKE
I set up a rig. CNN, Fox, BBC, and local Indian news channels. At first, I felt smart. "Informated." I knew about the election in a country I couldn't find on a map. I knew about the gold price fluctuation. I felt like a responsible citizen of the world.
// HOUR 5-10: THE ANXIETY LOOP
The news cycle is repetitive. They don't have 24 hours of news. They have 30 minutes of news repeated 48 times. But to keep you watching, they increase the Urgency. "DEVELOPING STORY." "RED ALERT." Sound effects: Whoosh. Boom. Siren. By Hour 6, my brain started to believe that the entire world was on fire. I started googling "Prepper Supplies" and "Visa-free countries." My Apple Watch alerted me: "High Heart Rate detected while sedentary." (105 BPM).
// HOUR 15: THE DEBATE SHOWS (PRIME TIME)
Evening time. The anchors shout. This is not news; this is Gladiatorial Combat. 10 panels on screen. Everyone yelling. The goal isn't truth; it's outrage. I felt physically angry about issues I didn't care about 10 hours ago. "Why IS the potholes situation in Bandra so political??" I yelled at the screen. I don't live in Bandra.
// HOUR 24: NIHILISM
By the end, I was numb. Compassion Fatigue. When you see tragedy on loop, you stop feeling it. You just see pixels. I turned off the TVs. Silence. I walked to the window. The sun was shining. A bird was chirping. The neighbor was walking his dog. The contrast between "The News World" (Hellscape) and "The Real World" (Boringly pleasant) was violent.
// THE EXTRAPOLATION
News is not a map of reality. It is a map of Anomalies. They report the planes that crash, not the millions that land. If you watch it for 24 hours, you construct a reality where everything is crashing. This is why heavy news consumers are statistically more pessimistic and depressed.
// CONCLUSION
Being "Informed" is overrated if the information is toxic. You cannot fix the war in Region X by watching it in 4K. Prescription: Read the news once a day for 15 minutes (Text only, no dramatic music). Then turn it off and look at a tree. The world is mostly fine. The screen is lying.