I'm really dreading this election year...
Mom keeps saying she is going to stop watching the news, because it causes her to worry so much, but the next thing I hear is the news. She has it on most of the day. She fights depression and it only makes her more depressed and have a bad attitude towards everything. If I go in sit in the same room with her she will let me change the channel, but she continues to talk about how bad everything is. Even though I live here and am her full-time care giver I can't sit and watch TV all day. Does anyone else have this issue?
I almost want to revise my will and specify if my eldercare people sense my distress with trashy media when I'm old, I would like it minimized. Not banned, but minimized so as to allow me to age away peacefully.
We all need protection when we arrive in this world and when we leave this world. deleteaccount's mom needs protection and deserves to have the topic explored so she and her family may have some peace in their lifetimes.
She may even be watching a station variant from her views although I wish you well in trying to find a programme that clearly interests her but doesn't depress her. Don't we all think it's about time there was a news slot called good news that recognised the worth of our black youth, that recognised the good things poor people do, that recognised that Muslims do fantastic things too. Now wouldn't that be a station she would love to see? And actually so would I
Big, big buttons. No reading glasses necessary.
To UK ears that sounds like a wild exaggeration, but on the other hand how would I know - is it so?
The news is easy for them to understand (as opposed to more complicated shows and dramas with fast talking and fast movements). Since the news focuses on nothing but the sensational and mostly bad you have to expect it feeds into their negativity.
Seniors are very conscious of the news which is not very cheerful. They lived during a time when there was much more patriotism, less strife and violence in America then there is today. With advance technology, all the bad stuff from all over the world is at their fingertips and the media loves to report it.
You can change your behavior and reaction to your mother's television news addiction. I think it's perfectly acceptable to tell your mother that you do not share her interest in bad news. If she won't quit bad news, and her depression is getting worse, maybe the only solution is get rid of cable television. I wish you lots of luck!
The only draw back would be that Dad would call me saying things like the schools were closed in Chicago because of the snow. Well, that's interesting since I have no children and live in Virginia :P But to Dad it was important. I wish I had more patience to understand why that was so urgent to him back when he was still with us.... [sigh]
Anyway, this appears to be an old thread but I'll weigh in anyway. My mother used to watch CNN and then she would start in with the "isn't it awful" talk. Sadly, our tv news stations thrive on everything bad, and now the internet news is the same. I no longer watch any news on tv - and lately have stopped reading on line articles. I glance at the headline, that's it. It is so depressing for anyone to hear only the bad, over and over. News seldom reports anything from other countries, or anything good. No wonder the US docs prescribe so many antidepressants. We are being led into the swamp of violence, hate and sex by the media.