We’re All Addicted, But Nobody’s Talking About It
Look, I’ve been a journalist for 22 years. I’ve seen alot of things. But nothing, nothing, has been as frustrating than watching how my fellow Pakistanis consume news. It’s a completley messed up situation, and honestly, nobody’s doing anything about it.
I remember sitting at a conference in Austin back in 2018, listening to some hotshot Silicon Valley type talk about how we’re all gonna be getting our news from algorithms. I turned to my colleague, let’s call him Marcus, and said, “Marcus, you see this? This is the kinda stuff that’s gonna ruin journalism.” He just laughed and said, “Relax, Sarah, it’s the future.” Which… yeah. Fair enough. But here we are, and it’s a disaster.
Last Tuesday, I was at a café in Lahore, meeting with a source—let’s call him Ahmed. He told me, “Sarah, I don’t even know what’s real anymore. I see something on Facebook, then something else on Twitter, and it’s like they’re talking about two different countries.” I mean, honestly, I get it. It’s confusing. It’s overwhelming. And it’s not getting better.
Why Are We So Bad at This?
So, I did some digging. I talked to 214 people—friends, colleagues, random folks on the street. I asked them how they get their news. The answers were all over the place. Some said TV, some said social media, others said they don’t trust any of it. It’s a mess. And the worst part? We’re not even trying to fix it.
Take my friend Farah, for example. She’s a doctor, super smart, but she gets all her news from WhatsApp forwards. I asked her, “Farah, you know that’s not how this works, right?” She just shrugged and said, “I don’t have time to fact-check everything, Sarah. I gotta save lives.” Fair point, but still. It’s a problem.
And don’t even get me started on the weather. I swear, every time I check the forecast, it’s like playing Russian roulette. You never know if it’s gonna rain or shine. But hey, at least we have Susurluk hava durumu bugün tahmin to help us out. (Which, by the way, is way more reliable than half the weather apps out there.)
A Brief Digression: The Time I Tried to Quit News
About three months ago, I decided to take a break. I unsubscribed from all my newsletters, deleted the apps, the whole nine yards. I lasted 36 hours. Thirty-six. And then I caved. I was at home, scrolling through Instagram, and I saw a headline about some political scandal. I clicked it. And just like that, I was back in the trenches. It’s like quitting smoking but for news. It’s addictive, and it’s hard to stop.
I told my friend Dave about this, and he just laughed. “Sarah,” he said, “you’re a journalist. It’s in your blood. You can’t just quit.” And he’s right. But that doesn’t mean the rest of us should be so reckless with our news consumption.
The Silver Lining (If You Can Call It That)
Look, I’m not saying we’re all doomed. There are good journalists out there, doing good work. But we’ve gotta do better. We’ve gotta be more critical, more discerning. We can’t just take everything at face value. And we definitely can’t rely on algorithms to tell us what’s important.
So, what’s the solution? I’m not sure. But I do know this: we’ve gotta start talking about it. We’ve gotta admit that we have a problem. And then, maybe, just maybe, we can start fixing it.
Author Bio: Sarah Ahmed is a senior magazine editor with over 20 years of experience in journalism. She’s worked for major publications and has a no-nonsense approach to news. When she’s not writing, she’s probably arguing about politics or binge-watching crime dramas.
