The Effects of Re-Internetization

For the past three months, living in Dublin, I have not had internet access at home, and I have not had a working TV. My exposure to current events has come from: down-time while temping when the internet wasn't blocked, the two free newspapers on the way to work, one scrounged-up copy of a week-old Economist, the occasional Irish Times left lying around at a cafe, and various links my friends sent me over these three months that I checked when I checked my email. Also, for my last three months in Montreal, I did not have internet access at home. That was less of an issue because I could still use the college computers for free, and there was relatively unfettered internet access at work.

We got internet access at home a little over a week ago, and I've been keeping up on the daily headlines since. Today, however, was the first occasion where I've had the time to sit down and actually catch up on news (including backlogged YouTube footage) from the past few months. Fortunately, in a way, there are a lot of "Year's Best/Worst" compilations which make it easier to compress what has happened over the past six months.

Just a few things that really struck me. I'm not sure if horrified is the right word. I would like to use it, but it might be a bit too strong. Confused me? Distressed me?

1) SO much of what is touted as important news is just people falling on their faces/making asses of themselves. Especially celebrities. I enjoy that bit of schadenfreude just as much as the next person, but good god. If there is nothing to report, make the newspapers less heavy. If there is nothing to say, don't pretend that there is.

2) Things that were touted as OH MY GOD THE WORLD IS GOING TO END THIS IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT when they happened are all but forgotten just a few weeks later. If anything, this kind of alarmist tendency is dangerous merely because it keeps people continually stressed out when there's no reason to be. Somewhat akin to the effect of the US's terrorism colour coding, perhaps?

3) I wonder how much of what we are being fed is the media needing to have a reason to exist in the amorphous ubiquity that it seems to be.