Voices of the 8th: Staying Informed – Responsibly!
Staying informed is important; we all know that. As citizens, it’s our responsibility to be knowledgeable about current events to act and vote accordingly.
Enter Doomscrolling: endlessly refreshing feeds of negative news, making burnout feel like civic duty.
We all doomscroll; it satisfies our brain’s impulses of threat detection and novelty seeking. It can make us feel like we’re being informed, but actually leads to increased feelings of depression and anxiety.
As we at Vot8th push towards educating voters, we want to take a minute to discuss how we can stay informed without feeling like we’re going crazy.
Be choosy about who you follow:
24-hour news cycles and social media algorithms fill our day with the same news story over and over. Every expert (and every not-so-expert) has to give their two cents on the same story, making every piece of news feel like an endless journey instead of an isolated event
To combat this, we suggest focusing on a small selection of pundits/content creators you trust instead of feeling like you need to hear every opinion all the time. Members of our group recommend the following YouTube channels and Podcasts:
Brian Tyler Cohen, Glenn Kirschner’s Justice Matters, Mark Elias’ Democracy Docket, Belle of the Ranch, Tabitha Speaks Politics, Luke Beasley, and Adam Mockler
Check facts on trusted websites like https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/, https://usafacts.org/, https://apnews.com/ap-fact-check instead of endlessly scrolling through comments and reactions to try to discover the truth.
Be mindful:
Ingesting news has become a passive affair. We automatically check social media and are inundated with bite-sized fragments of current events.
To combat this, you can become intentional about being informed by shifting your focus to active engagement for a shorter amount of time.
We recommend spending a predetermined amount of time intentionally checking in with trusted sources, instead of letting snippets creep unnoticed into your life throughout the day.
Curtail Social Media:
How you manage social media will vary depending on who you are. Some of us have cut social media out of our lives entirely, and some of us have had excellent luck with screen time apps like ScreenZen. There is no right answer, but constantly being exposed to negativity is not sustainable.
When you do use social media, work on training your algorithms to avoid perpetual feeds of negative news. This means unfollowing certain accounts and ignoring certain content.
Get active!
Doomscrolling might help you feel informed, but in reality, it is burning you out and offering no solutions.
This feeling of helplessness is why we started Voices of the 8th — we wanted to create something positive and impactful from the negativity we were all feeling.
Next time you feel like doomscrolling, try calling a local representative instead. Sign a petition. Attend a protest. Write a newsletter 😉
Turning negative emotions into something actionable can break the negative feedback loop and help you feel better while making positive change.
We always include multiple actionable steps in every newsletter. Get involved and see how you feel! Check out our events calendar on our website for more!
Upcoming events:
Out of CECOT – National Day of Action
Thursday, July 24th, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. Consulado de El Salvador en Aurora.
Come rally and be present when the 1000th letter in support of releasing those held illegally in El Salvador is presented to the consulate.
Weekly Protest at Gabe Evans’ Northglenn office
Friday, July 25th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 10701 Melody Drive, Northglenn. East side of Melody, across from the building
Saturday, July 26th, 5:00 pm, Lincoln Veterans Memorial Park near the Colorado Capitol Building
This event continues John Lewis’ fight for justice, and a fair will be held alongside the protest, featuring music, games, and opportunities to engage with local activist groups.
- There is also a protest against ICE at 4 pm at the Capitol.
Training: Who Runs the Government?
Tuesday, August 12, 202,5, at 6:00 PM
A training event hosted by With Many Hands that empowers everyday people to run for public office and create a system that works for us.
Why not you? Why not now?
Please let us know of any events you think would be good candidates at info(at)voicesofthe8th.org* or by replying directly to this email.
*Please replace the (at) with @ if you intend to copy/paste this email
Finally, if you know someone who you think would like to subscribe to this newsletter, please point them to our website (http://www.voicesofthe8th.org/) and have them click the envelope icon at the top of the page.
Thanks!
Voices of the 8th
