NYT journalist Farhad Manjoo spent nearly two months relying solely on print for his news and concluded that digital has broken how we process information
I first got news of the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., via an alert on my watch. Even though I had turned off news notifications months ago … Tweets: @fmanjoo , @mattdpearce , @brianstelter , @benjysarlin , @talkopan , @benjysarlin , @williamturton , @matthewnussbaum , @summerbrennan , @jmartnyt , @christophclarey , @markberman , @panzer , @puiwingtam , and @fxshaw See also Mediagazer Tweets: @fmanjoo : I spent 2 months getting the news mostly from print. It changed my life.I was better informed, less anxious, and I had tons of free time.I distilled the experience into three Michael Pollan-esque lessons:Get news. Not too quickly. Avoid social.http://www.nytimes.com/ ... Matt Pearce / @mattdpearce : Reading bullshit on social media is work! Social-media companies shifted the labor of news judgment from paid professionals (newspaper editors!) onto unpaid consumers. Your newspaper subscription pays for the labor of keeping Alex Jones out of your brain. http://www.nytimes.com/... Brian Stelter / @brianstelter : Manjoo: “For goodness' sake, please stop getting your news mainly from Twitter and Facebook. In the long run, you and everyone else will be better off.” http://www.nytimes.com/... Benjy Sarlin / @benjysarlin : I was near Ground Zero on 9/11, there were a whole bunch of false or unconfirmed reports passing around radio, TV and other rumor mills even while we were walking from the dust cloud. There was no Facebook or Twitter then. It's an issue with that kind of breaking news. Tal Kopan / @talkopan : This is interesting, but all these analyses of how social media has broken the world don't address the reality that social media is here and people are not likely to abruptly turn it off. So if going backwards isn't an option, what can actually be done? https://www.nytimes.com/... Benjy Sarlin / @benjysarlin : This is a good read, but the prime example is already its own well established category. Always always always be skeptical of initial reports on mass shootings and terrorism, this goes back to the era before social media too. https://nyti.ms/2G14WiP William Turton / @williamturton : I try really hard to only read news in print on weekends, and it is extremely good https://www.nytimes.com/... Matthew Nussbaum / @matthewnussbaum : “The built-in incentives on Twitter and Facebook reward speed over depth, hot takes over facts and seasoned propagandists over well-meaning analyzers of news.” This is a good read —> https://www.nytimes.com/... Summer Brennan / @summerbrennan : “Turning off the buzzing breaking-news machine I carry in my pocket was like unshackling myself from a monster who had me on speed dial” https://www.nytimes.com/... Jonathan Martin / @jmartnyt : Read print papers - you'll see stories ya would otherwise miss and be far more informed https://nytimes.com/... Christopher Clarey / @christophclarey : There's a lot to this and some modern habits worth reconsidering. Instead of consuming news incrementally, makes a lot of sense to try to ensure that your one read is the best and most complete read whether it's print or digital https://nyti.ms/2G14WiP Mark Berman / @markberman : “Please stop getting your news mainly from Twitter and Facebook. In the long run, you and everyone else will be better off.” @fmanjoo on how he walled off our endless ALERT/BREAKING/NOW HERE'S A TAKE news cycles and found peace and actual information https://nyti.ms/2G14WiP Matthew Panzarino / @panzer : 3 jokes, 1 article.1. The hot new privilege trend: newspaper only living2. This is a lot of column inches to quit twitter3. If you're going to be a Trappist, at least make beerhttps://t.co/BUjL9zqdQe Pui-Wing Tam / @puiwingtam : Next @fmanjoo goes even more old school by going on leave for a few months to write — gasp! — a print book. Frank X. Shaw / @fxshaw : Like @farhad, I get three print papers each morning. Seattle Times, WSJ, NYT. Plus a dozen print magazines. His points are spot on. http://www.nytimes.com/... See also Mediagazer