I think I have become a news addict.
I know I’m not the only one. I have noticed that I am spending an increasing amount of time reading news websites. As my newsfeed is tailored to my interests by big brother algorithms I am being fed even more articles about Covid, education, American politics and sport. It is quite clear that most news agencies focus on the negative. Even when there is good news it is buried amongst the bad.
And so I have been reading articles that are inherently negative and the algorithms therefore assume I enjoy bad news and feed me more of it. Time to break the cycle! There is lots of good news out there and lots of positivity. You just have to look for it. So, I have developed a trick (I think they are called hacks these days). I bet I’m not the first to think of it but I’m proud of it. For every article I read that is based on bad news I search for two that make me smile. This morning, my efforts have been repaid. In amongst the negative news is a different type of article. Not the one about Love Island stars on holiday in Dubai (not sure why that is in my news feed!). It is about a dog who developed a “sympathy limp” after his owner broke his leg. A story about loyalty, compassion, love and humour. I’ve clicked on it many times with the aim of convincing my newsfeed algorithm to send me more happy stories.
Amongst the difficulties we are all facing there is humour out there. There is positivity. There is kindness. Sometimes we have to look for them but they are there. But we won’t see them if we focus on the bad news. Let’s look harder for the good news.
Lee Glaser, Headmaster
Categories: Blog Nursery Pre-Prep Preparatory Senior Sixth Form
