Before Kendrick said “Turn the tv off”, I unplugged for 48 hours out in the woods in Maryland a few years ago. Who knew these places still existed near a metropolitan area? I was attending a girls retreat and the venue had no WiFi. We were encouraged to stay off our phones and really just connect with our faith and nature. It was awesome. All this to say…unplugging can be done but it does feel impossible when your job is to stay plugged in!
As a journalist and educator, I have this awesome dilemma of not being able to really “unplug” from the day-to-day news cycle. So many of my friends have decided to “unplug” from news and politics. At least for this week. Lucky for them. Not so much for me. (Am I hating? Hmm, trying not to, just venting!) It’s crazy out in these streets. We are living in a very heightened political season, no matter what side you’re on or what marches you attend. Unplugging for me is not really an option when you cover politics and news. You have to stay plugged in, anticipate what’s next, process information coming in at high speeds, and make your deadline. You have to stay connected.
There’s an interesting balance of neutrality that you have to maintain when you work in news and politics. You obviously are human first, so you’re going to feel connected to the stories you’re covering. Journalism 101 says to keep your personal opinions to yourself. Report the facts. Stay neutral. Your job may say that too. (Don’t get fired, y’all!). I have visions of unplugging when I come home from work. But if I’m honest, I’m still on! The breaking news alerts are still coming. News doesn’t stop. I have to know what’s the latest.
The cycle never seems to end. I used to balk at the term 24-hour news cycle. I mean, who absorbs that much information on a given day? We do, we do! I’ve read articles at three in the morning. And with social media at the top of the news cycle chain, it’s really hard to escape “the news.” Sure, you can shut down Facebook for a day or two, but are you scrolling on Instagram? TikTok-ing through the night? Threads? Cable news? Blogs? Podcasts? My iPhone…oh my! My phone has so many alerts set to it, and with a fully charged battery, I think it wants to unplug too.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the news. I love my industry. It’s exciting and it keeps me on my toes. I signed up for it many years ago because I love telling stories and I wanted folks to be informed. I wanted to be a source of information. But I also don’t want to lose my mind in the process! So maybe unplugging seems impossible at this very moment, but I know that downtime and peace of mind are extremely important to me. So here’s to finding some unplugging time over these next few days. Not sure what that will look like for me, but I keep hearing good things about sound baths and digital detox retreats. And I’m definitely scheduling some solo vacays this year. Plus, there are so many books I want to read. Let’s see how this works.
You in? How are you “unplugging” from the news cycle in 2025?