Uncle. At the risk of sounding dramatic, the news of today is soul crushing. Stories of out of control wildfires wiping out millions of acres and devastating animal populations. Pictures to really drive the devastation home. The very angry, and ugly, political circus that has become our new norm in the States, paired with memes that bring the mockery to life. A virus that is causing entire countries to be quarantined, with hourly headlines and updates that inform us it’s getting closer to our backyards.
As much as I like to be well informed on what’s going on in the world, and believe it’s important to a degree, I’m exhausted. The start of 2020 is a clear continuation of the negativity of 2019; at this point I’m consciously tapping out. Enough of the bad news.
The Shine of Social Media Has Dulled
I’ve long used social media as a way to aggregate my news in one feed, while balancing it with updates from friends and family that, due to living far away, I see more online than in real life. Both staying apprised of the latest world events, and the ability to stay up-to-date on those I love used to be good reasons for me to log on. Not anymore. The shine has long dulled.
So, this week I woke up and decided to find the GOOD news sources out there. Arguably true news outlets, but only focused on good news. Folks, they exist. To keep it simple, I’ve decided to source my daily dose of positive developments in the world via Instagram. Here are four wonderful news sources for up-to-the-minute goodness.
Good News Movement @goodnews_movement: News of kind acts, good news and heroes.
Upworthy @upworthy: Delivering the best of humanity, and they’ve been at it since 2012. From pupworthy news to stories of hope, gratitude, and kindness, it’s a feed worth following.
The Happy Broadcast: “Anxiety-free news.” A self-described counter-hate and fear project that features happy news from around the world. As icing on the cake, the good stuff is shared here via illustration by Italian artist Mauro Gotti.
And of course, what’s a list like this without ensuring you’re following The Ellen Show @theellenshow. Via instagram, this account has ~84 million followers that enjoy daily reminders of good and kindness happening all around us.
If you’re unable to digitally detox, but looking for less of the bad and much more of the good, I can assure your filling of uplifting stories with these sources. Here’s to reading up on what’s positive and fulfilling.