Cost of Being Informed
With the world quite literally at our fingertips, we are inundated with breaking news on a weekly (if not daily) basis. Staying up to date on what is happening around us has never been more difficult. This is true not only because of the questionable quality of many news sources, but also because of the sheer volume of information required to feel truly informed. Never before in human history has so much information about the world been so readily accessible to the general public. This reality raises an important and uncomfortable question: what is this constant level of awareness doing to our bodies, and at what point does the cost of being informed outweigh its benefit?
I am a deeply empathetic person and always have been. Being aware of what is happening in the world matters to me, particularly as someone who cares deeply about the suffering of marginalized communities. I believe awareness is a responsibility for being a functioning person in society. At the same time, I am also highly sensitive, both in how I emotionally process the world and in how my body responds to stress. While some people seem to operate well under pressure, I am not one of them. Acute stress is difficult for me, and prolonged or chronic stress can be debilitating. Over time, staying informed has begun to feel less like a responsibility and more like a negotiation with my own nervous system. I often know, before opening an article or watching a video, that I am about to place my body into a fight-or-flight state that I cannot control.
I wear an Oura ring, one of its functions is to track stress throughout the day. On average, I experience around two hours of serious stress daily, which includes physical stress from exercise as well as mental and emotional strain. On January 24th, news broke that ICE shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. This post is not intended to analyze the details of what happened to him. Instead, I want to focus on my experience of consuming that information. Yesterday, I fell deeply into the news cycle, gathering as much information as I could in a short amount of time. Despite knowing how sensitive I am to violence, I willingly watched the video of his killing. I told myself it was important to witness what happened firsthand, to form my own understanding rather than rely solely on someone else’s interpretation.
The impact of that decision stayed with me for the rest of the day. I was deeply shaken in ways that felt physical, emotional, and spiritual all at once. My heart hurt. My spirit felt heavy and defeated. My mind oscillated between grief and anger. According to my Oura data, I experienced six and a half hours of serious stress that day, more than triple my normal amount. This was not a particularly demanding day by external standards. I had no work obligations and spent the day at home with my loving boyfriend, in a safe and calm environment. And yet, my body was responding as if it were under sustained threat. The data simply confirmed what I already felt. There is a real and measurable toll that comes with being informed.
There is something deeply unnatural about routinely witnessing the final moments of another human being. Even when we do not agree with the person who died. Whether it is Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Charlie Kirk, or anyone else who has lost their life due to the actions of another, I do not know if there has ever been another moment in history where death has been so accessible to the public outside of a war setting. We are not meant to carry this much collective trauma in such an unfiltered way. Our bodies, our minds, and our spirits did not evolve to absorb this level of exposure without consequence.
I have spoken with many people about the state of modern media and the emotional and physical cost of staying informed. I know several people who have chosen to disengage almost entirely as an act of self-preservation. I understand that choice deeply. In many ways, it makes sense. However, I do not believe that complete disengagement is the answer, either. Ignoring what is happening in the world does not make injustice disappear. It simply shifts the burden of responsibility onto others.
As a Christian, I am called to love others. I believe that advocacy is one tangible way to live out that calling. Remaining uninformed is a luxury that many people cannot afford, particularly those whose lives are directly impacted by the systems and events we read about from a distance. While I feel as though I am privileged enough to fully disengage, I feel a responsibility to remain informed, not just for my own sake, but for the sake of those who cannot look away. And yet, I am still left wrestling with the same unresolved question. Where is the line? At what point does staying informed become too taxing on the body and the soul? When does care quietly turn into harm? Honestly I do not know the answer to this question yet and I think it will be a line for myself in either direction over time. If you are someone who does not engage in the news in any way, I do think it is important to be informed even if it is but a small amount that your mind can handle. If you are someone who is informed but finds the news to be all consuming, know that it is okay for there to be a line. You are allowed to protect your peace and still be an advocate for others.
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