Mindfulness in face of negative news

 

Ramadan 2024 has been weird so far and to be honest, all this weirdness doesn’t come from first-hand experiences or encounters - the source of this sense of weirdness is filtered through our consumption of online media - the internet, social media, WhatsApp, etc.

It’s a mediated weirdness - a form of weirdness that defines the postmodern era we live in and the events that have transpired and featured in our national news headlines since the start of Ramadan makes for interesting case studies on how quickly we assume that society and its institutions are crumbling with each news feed we swipe.

It is easy to be riled up, upset, or even driven to thump our chests in agreement upon scrolling through the news feeds or posts we consume daily and come to the conclusion that the world has gone completely nuts and that reason has failed us.

These are the hallmarks of the postmodern condition we find ourselves in - the fragmentation of reason where rationality is attacked.

Just like how Ramadan is a test of one’s iman (faith) and how we respond to temptation, we must be mindful of our response to this sense of fragmentation.

Giving in to instant gratification

A couple of decades ago when email started to be the norm, a friend who ran his own tech startup remarked that people were “reacting” rather than “replying” to emails. People were taking less time to articulate their thoughts before putting words down (as opposed to writing on paper and pen).

As we transitioned from the immediacy of the keyboard to our smartphone screens, we’ve lost a sense of gatekeeping and reason and gave in to instant gratification.

In other words, the medium made people believe that immediacy in responding overtook the need to process the message or query sent before replying.

Naturally, in the business of news where currency on who gets to the headlines first of a breaking story wins, this false sense of immediacy envelopes us in a state of constant anxiety about the “next”. We’ve lost our sense of evaluating the present critically.

With the benefit of hindsight, this accelerated response to news events that we now call “viral” has instilled in us a false sense of urgency that has unwittingly distorted our perception of the present.

We are indeed living in “The Matrix” - that 1998 movie starring Keanu Reeves - albeit minus the dystopian set designs and special effects. Dystopia isn’t how it is like in the movies - take a look at our behaviour online as a society: we are the dystopia. You, me, and everyone else. We’re a part of this. No one with a data plan or an internet connection is innocent or free from this scourge.

The speed at which information and alarmist clickbait travels also parallels the speed at which we are expected to complete our tasks in our work and office culture. It’s evident in the meaningless and vacuous language that populates our emails and messages: “please expedite”, “for your action”, “urgent”, “looking forward to your positive response”, “action items” etc.

Not to mention the additional apps that your company will force you to use so that you are more immediately contactable aside from your present work email and phone number (even worse if your company provides you with a company smartphone).

Mitigating responses

But take stock and take a second critical look at all of this and you will notice that they are empty signifiers and tools which you can control and mitigate your responses towards.

Similarly, we should treat how we respond to religious demagogues and political opportunists who ingeniously manipulate newsworthiness to race to the headlines.

New media, too, should take stock and reconsider giving these rabble-rousers their time in the sun. We probably need a reassessment of what is “newsworthy” from how it has always been measured.

We are all held hostage by our desires to “keep up to date”, unaware of being caught up in our lack of mindfulness, fueled by a sense of political apathy.

So, let us reflect and practise mindfulness while still in this holy month. Don’t bother going to the Ramadan bazaars or those wasteful buffets. Turn off your phones, open your windows, and take a walk outside.

See? Nature carries on as it always does, with or without the human online noise and gibberish. - Mkini

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AZMYL YUNOR is an underground recording artist and academic in media, film, and cultural studies.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.