When thinking about better media consumption, I can’t help but remember that multiple friends have said some version of these phrases to me in the last month: “I open the New York Times app to play Wordle – not read the news.” “I can’t keep watching. It’s just going to make me mad.”

Somewhere, Steve Bannon is smiling. President Donald Trump is following his former adviser’s media philosophy called “shock and awe.”

“The real opposition is the media,” Bannon said in 2018, “and the way to deal them is to flood the zone with shit.” In other words, deluge the press with so much news that they lose focus — and deluge the public in the process.

Some of Trump’s policies are meant to distract (calling the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of America?), while other policies will damage our society (such as firing thousands of USAID workers and eliminating more than 90 percent of foreign aid contracts). It’s hard not to let the news drain you if you care about justice, your neighbors, and the world.

I’m in that state of overwhelm some days. As someone who values kindness and facts, I’m finding watching this administration to be a lot. And it’s not like I have a bunch of free hours in the day for watching the news anyway. I have a full-time job, plus a toddler who still needs me to slice her bananas and put on her clothes.

But I have to keep watching for one basic reason: Democracy takes work. Knowledge helps us choose effective candidates AND keep them accountable when in office. Which is why I put together this guide – so we can stay informed without becoming overwhelmed.

Know Your Priorities

Know the areas of society you want to improve. Do you care about climate change? Passionate about economic equity and racial justice? Consume news about those topics and limit the rest.

But wait… Shouldn’t I be concerned with everything? If you’re asking this question, you might be one of the 70% of Americans who said they were overwhelmed by the news in 2022.

This exhaustion can lead to something that professor Eitan Hersh calls political hobbyism.

Overconsumption of news has little effect on its own, but it can make you feel like you’re doing something. Posting our anger to social media might be signaling to someone that we care, which makes us feel good, but our world probably stays the same.

Less is More

Less is more here. Don’t read the news every day if it stresses you out.

Focus on these few areas of passion, and cut out the rest of the noise. This strategy gives you more time for taking action by calling your representatives, volunteering, or joining an organization that advocates for your preferred causes.

For example, I need to know political news for my job as a social studies teacher, which tends to inform the news I consume. I do read political news, but I focus less on the sport of politics and more on existing solutions (or lack thereof). I also try to read more local news, as my vote matters more in New York City than nationwide.

Go Deep (Not Broad)

Instead of consuming each headline, read longer-form articles a few days after the story develops.

Journalists learn more as they report. They have more time to fact-check and provide context. Reading longer articles helps you stay informed and lets the media churn through the false statements that Trump and his team often release.

The more you hear a false claim repeated, the more likely you are to believe it’s true. This is known as the “illusory truth effect” and was proven as early as 1977. Reading fewer, and longer, articles decreases the chance that you’ll hear false things repeatedly and eventually believe those false claims.

ProPublica is a great source of investigative news. For example, I recommend you check out their story, “The Trump Administration Said These Aid Programs Saved Lives. It Canceled Them Anyway.”

Here’s an example of how focusing on longer-form stories pays off. In an effort to better my media consumption habits, I stopped listening to news about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency a few days after the story developed, but I recently listened to a news report from PBS NewsHour that fact checked Musk’s claims about how much DOGE has saved the government. I might not know the day-to-day operations of DOGE, but when I assert that Musk has made false claims, I can back it up with facts.

Use Social Media with Caution

I can’t give up social media entirely. Instagram has become a key way for me to hear about collective action steps such as the economic boycott on February 28. Plus, I find there valuable perspectives that don’t make it into legacy media.

That being said, too much time on social media can make me overwhelmed, and I’m in good company. More than half of Americans get most of their social media from the news, and research has shown that this habit can lead to worse mental health. A study of 61 adults in 2020 showed that those who got pandemic-related news from social media were more prone to symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I have spent significantly less time on social media since returning to full-time work after the birth of my daughter, and it’s had a positive effect on my mental health. Limit your social media check-ins to one per day and be mindful of which accounts bring you more stress.

Find the Joy

Be consuming other media that brings you joy!

Don’t forget about art – make sure you’re listening to music instead of just podcasts. Try reading a book when you first wake up rather than scrolling. Follow social media accounts that feature cute puppies as a palate cleanser. It doesn’t all have to be a downer – finding the joy is one key way to have better media consumption habits.

Regardless, when figuring out how to better your media consumption, take heart in the wisdom in political science professor Timothy Snyder’s book, On Tyranny. In the eleventh chapter, Snyder emphasizes that staying informed and discerning fact from fiction is essential toward maintaining a free society. He writes, “It is your ability to discern facts that makes you an individual, and our collective trust in common knowledge that makes us a society. The individual who investigates is also the citizen who builds.”