I quit the news 7 years ago. Here’s what I’ve learned.

Is it so bad that I hate the news? I know it sounds terrible at first, like I'm sticking my head in the sand. But maybe it's not. Maybe it's one of the smartest things I've done.

Other than a couple months during the scary early days of COVID, my wife and I have quit the news. For seven years, we have avoided hearing about all the terrible things happening on the planet. We've also missed out on many of the wonderful things occurring throughout the world. But we're okay with that. Ignorance has been, well, not bliss, but net positive.

I'm not sure we humans were wired to know everything. I'm not sure we are built to carry the weight of the world's 7.5 billion souls on our shoulders. That's an enormous number—an incomprehensible figure. If you really sat down and contemplated how many people that is, how many problems that entails, and how much tragedy is likely to surround that many lives...that, my friend, would make Atlas shrug.

Caring about my family? Yeah, I can handle that. My friends and acquaintances? Sure, them too. But load me up with much more than 150 people and my mind starts spinning as I grasp for solid ground.

It's not that I get stressed, freaked out, or can't handle it. I can. I handled it for decades and I could easily do it again. I just choose not to. I choose curation. I choose choice. I choose to filter. I choose a smaller aperture. I choose no notifications. I choose a drinking fountain, not a firehose. I reject clickbait, sensationalism, negativity, shallowness, and echo chambers. I'm a rebel with a cause - my cause being my sanity.

And it's not that I don't care about the world. I do. I deeply care about the welfare of others. But I only have so much care in my tank. Or perhaps it's better to say, I only have so much active care in my psyche. And if I've learned anything in 64 years, it is to manage my emotional reserves well. I’m no Mother Teresa. I only have what I have. And I need to ensure I have enough for my 150.

So where'd the number 150 come from? British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggested that this number was our natural human limit. He posited that 150 people is the optimal, and perhaps maximum, number of stable relationships or acquaintances any one person can maintain. By relationships or acquaintances, he meant the kind of person at whose table you'd stop to chat if you saw them at a restaurant. This concept is now known as Dunbar's number.

That makes sense to me. It aligns with what I've seen in the world and experienced through my own emotional capacity. So I'm doubling down on my 150. I'm going to try and do better by them instead of spreading myself thin.

I know this might sound naïve, but I trust that the world will take care of itself. I do. I trust in the glue of self-interest (Adam Smith). I trust humanity. I trust that our government will figure things out; after all, they have a pretty good track record over several centuries. I trust that other countries will also figure out their issues. I'm optimistic about the planet. I solidly am. Knowing, of course, that as little as 15,000 years ago we had mile-thick ice covering parts of Oregon. I don’t think things are worse than ever. I don't. When I read history, which I do a lot, I see that people have always been people. I don’t think technology has exacerbated everything. Yes, we face new challenges, but if you filter, the human experience is pretty much the same. And I don’t believe we are sliding down the moral cliff like never before. The older generation has bemoaned the next one since Adam said to Cain, “Back in my day...”  

So maybe it’s my optimism that enables me to quit the news while all my other friends can't or won't. (Out of my 150, I know of no one else, other than Joyce, who has quit the news.) Maybe it's because they don't share my optimism. 

Or maybe they just like the news. Ha! There's a thought. Maybe they enjoy the little squirt of dopamine it gives them. Maybe they want to stay current and fulfill their civic duty. Maybe they believe they can contribute to making a difference, even in some small way. And for some, the news may be a comforting white noise in their lives. Amen and amen! I dig that.

But for Joyce and me, quitting the news has been a net gain. And maybe it's just our little quiet-quit that no one else will join. No problem. I'm guessing about 10% of the population feels like we do. Fair enough. Us 10%ers will just continue sipping margaritas on the beach of ignorance.

And can I ask this of all you news-lovers? Can you do us a favor? Please make sure to keep this big old world operating smoothly for us head-in-the-sanders. We’d appreciate it.

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