Sorry, newscasts; you're just way too depressing for me these days

I've become disengaged, tuned out.

There was a time not long ago when I would eagerly read the local newspaper and browse several news websites on a daily basis.

I can't recall the last time I've done this. I'm not entirely sure why.

I'm 47 years old. I don't live under a rock. I consider myself tolerant and open-minded. I enjoy learning new things and being aware of what's happening, both locally and globally.

So what's happened to turn me away from something I previously enjoyed?

How many of you can list 10 good news stories you've read in the past week? Five? Two?

It's pathetic how bad news travels so fast and gets such an insane amount of coverage. Perhaps I've grown tired of the negativity that I've let creep into my life each and every day.

Being recently diagnosed with depression certainly hasn't helped me maintain a positive perspective on things.

But I need to. I really, really need to.

Remember when you were a kid? The days lasted forever. We had fun. We didn't worry about politics, economics, global strife, or daily mass shootings.

Our biggest worry was whether we'd ace that math exam or not, or if the schoolyard bully was going to pick you as the lucky winner of today's harassment.

Bombarded with information … if that's the right word

Fast-forward to 2018.

The internet, social media and broadcast television/radio means we are constantly being bombarded with information, and I use that term loosely.

Perhaps I've grown tired of the negativity that I've let creep into my life each and every day.

Sensational headlines, clickbait, and doom-and-gloom articles are the norm.

There are good news stories out there but I feel like it takes far too much effort to find them amongst the drivel.

I realize that most journalists are simply doing their jobs, writing an article or producing a broadcast piece based on an angle they've been given by a senior producer, etc. I also realize that the news industry is a business like any other. It has to generate revenue. It has to create and maintain an audience.

How do they do that? Not with an article about fluffy kittens or the kindly neighbour who shovels the snow for the senior citizens on his street.

The article about the fire in a housing complex that killed 14 children is captivating. The story of an entire country literally starving to death is fantastic. The sabre-rattling of deranged world leaders threatening to start a thermonuclear war certainly gets people's attention.

I was recently in the waiting room at my family doctor's office, not something most folks would enjoy on the best of days. The television was on, tuned to a major Canadian news channel, blasting the latest news stories of the day.

Apparently these days the only things that are newsworthy, even here in Canada, are the latest shenanigans, blunders and outright asinine actions of the administration of elected officials to our South.

I don't have the words to describe my utter contempt and disappointment in what's going on. (Well, I do, but I seriously doubt they would make it past the editors.)

My social media feed is chock-full of political misinformation, extreme left or right points of view, and hatred being spewed from all sides.

There's no room for sensible debate. It's black and white with nothing in between.

These days, I'd rather talk about cars and music with my neighbour, or just sit on my front porch sipping a cup of tea.

They say ignorance is bliss.

Lately, I tend to agree.

This is a point of view article from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Read more of our articles here. Do you have something to contribute? Get in touch and send us a pitch.