Finding peace in a world of information overload
Every year we measure happiness. The collective happiness of a nation.
The World Happiness Report is a global initiative launched by the United Nations in 2012 and produces a report primarily authored by a group of independent experts in fields such as economics, psychology, and statistics. Happiness is measured using six categories including GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, and freedom from corruption.
Normally, I don’t pay much attention to the names on the list, apart from parking the country
names as possible holiday destinations someday in the future. If the people are so happy, surely a little bit will rub off on a tourist!
This year, the list was presented to me in a somewhat hard-hitting fashion. The God of Social
Algos was serving up some news items that included two old men wanting to be President again, a favourite cricket league team doing what it does best - raising our hopes, and heart-wrenching images from a very real war in the Middle East. As I continued to scroll, the Happiness List appeared. As expected, the Northern European nations continue to dominate the charts. Somehow the lack of sunlight doesn’t take away their joy!
But number 5 on the list is Israel. In the midst of a deadly war.
How does one process such information that passes by you at the speed of Reels.
One second, you are seeing cities ravaged by war, and with a swipe, you are told of weirdly conflicting happiness statistics. What emotions and thoughts does one take away?
Around the same time, we also had a missing Princess. She announced a planned surgery, said she would be away from the spotlight for a few weeks and hoped to return by Easter. Yet, for the majority of the insta-news consuming world, she had no right to make such plans. We needed and deserved all the gory details. And being denied, we will make up stories of our own. From depression to divorce to death!
Bullied into making an appearance, the Princess appeared and gave us a collective lesson on patience, privacy and the perils of a bad PR team. We slinked away, again trying to process the heavy news of her actual illness.
As we scroll through news feeds bombarded with war, lies, and controversy theories, finding balance amidst the chaos becomes a daunting task. In a world where headlines change in the blink of an eye, processing conflicting information has become an everyday challenge. From the joyous ranks of the world's happiest nations to the grim scenes of war-torn cities, the emotional rollercoaster of our digital age leaves us reeling.
Cultivating Clarity Amidst Chaos
In such times, it's crucial to adopt a balanced approach to information consumption. Here are some strategies:
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