I successfully avoided "the news" for a couple years, but recently bent over for it again due to what I want to call "becoming too alien", by which I mainly mean having too little basis for interaction with non-screen others.
Instead of going back and forth with others over the quark-splitting minutia of hyperbolic fictions, I was perpetually hearing and having to explain "What? You didn't know about *that*?", which was becoming a combination of boring and embarrassing.
So lately I began typing "news.google.com" and hitting <enter> again, then scrolling about so maybe a few ridiculous tidbits here and there would stick, allowing me to break into public musings about such at bars, wineries, while waiting in some line, etc.
And it works. I've found I no longer take any of it seriously for having become so strongly convinced it's all mostly N-th hand, "info-entropy" ridden fiction. And I'm used to others having faith in things/"facts" that they'd normally fall into hysterical fits of laughter over when on display by *others* in the form of faith in things they consider silly, e.g. "God", "Jesus".
So why not run with it? Why not engage? Why not enjoy becoming borderline theatric while verbally exploring the illogicity - if not the "woke"-centric unrighteousness (OH.. MY.. GOD..) - of it all, while inwardly smiling for having successfully gotten others to take it personally to the point of chest poundings, all the while remaining inwardly calm for realizing its fictional nature?
"CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE WHAT TRUMP DID NOW!"
"AND HOW OBVIOUSLY SENILE BIDEN IS?!??!??!"
"AND WHAT SUCH AND SUCH CELEBRITY SAID?!??"
OH...
MY...
GAWWWWWWWWWWWWD!!!!!
(hehehehehe)
(Of course, it helps immensely knowing all the while there's a place to escape from the aforementioned called Midnight Pub, where one can avoid such glassy-eyed, spittle-heavy "interaction".... <wraps arms around screen, squeezes, kisses its edge>)
yes, def feels sincere (dare I say "intimate") here at The Midnight.
And the "news.google.com" search on random - that's like internet Russian Roulette where the chips are rage, rage, or rage. I go the DDG route, because everything is DDG for me, and I keep the terms specific, because even then there will be all manner of "hyperbole" clutter in the results. I even refine it to "Past Day" in the filters, so as to not see a bunch of pre-clicked purple links.
Stay safe out there, Inquiry, haha. And remember the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button is not your friend. (idk really, I never clicked that button in the years I Google'd) ;)