The hysterical informational disorder has overwhelmed the means of mass communication all over the world. Most of the free time meant for our mental development is being consumed by thousands of news sources popping up on our tablet or telephone screens, carrying us away at vertiginous speed toward the unknown, instead of placing us where all is clear and comprehensible—so we might happily continue a well-informed and educated way of life.
In the avalanche of mixed wanted and unwanted information, designed to turn us into classic modern zombies, it has become extremely difficult to know which info is worth imbuing—because it is reliable, and what deserves rebuttal—because it is false.
There is a mind-boggling number of people on the air 24/7 worldwide—some in the role of interviewer, others as respondent—each of them claiming the irrefutable truth of the comments they are making nonstop.
Certainly, the same holds true in Sakartvelo, where our curious and belligerent journalists, in line with their current political engagements, are locked in persistent battle with our obstreperous, bad-mouthing, and vituperative politicians—who are ready to deploy any political trick to perpetuate their respective party’s concepts and principles.
And in the complicated process of that struggle, truth and lie intermingle so strongly that confusion becomes inevitable. No surprise! Georgia is an organic part of this crazy, crazy, crazy world, and nothing can change that.
One must be a high-level and overly skilled professional in political science to safely delve into the ocean of political commentaries available on the Internet and emerge with conclusions even remotely approximating the truth.
Otherwise, reading through the information currently processed and produced makes no sense—because the chance for a rank-and-file individual like myself to know the truth about ongoing events, either locally or globally, especially regarding the prolonged war in Ukraine and the unending havoc in the Middle East, is practically zero.
Without an iota of exaggeration, there is a sense of suffocation at the moment when you have to sit down and digest all that is being thrown at you by the army of media workers and the people they extract information from for further proliferation.
So, what is the way out?
There is, at the moment, nothing very rational looming on the horizon—except that we teach our young how to handle this informational paranoia. We must tell them that, in the high-stress situations we are living through, managing media madness can be like wearing a lifebelt when you don’t know how to swim.
Right now, specialists are telling us it is very important to be positively pragmatic.
Priority number one is giving priority to our mental health—and that is no overstatement.
We need to teach our kids how to reduce the impact of overwhelming media by limiting exposure to news and opinion-based content, deliberately and drastically. We must encourage engagement in positive offline activities; schedule specific times to check news and social media, rather than passively scrolling throughout the day; intentionally seek out uplifting or positive stories; understand that all media outlets carry perspectives and potential biases; avoid responding to media content in the heat of the moment; and take time to process information and formulate a thoughtful response.
These are just quick and brief off-hand tips. If taken more seriously, comprehensive research into this painful topic must be made—and fed, without delay, to our youth for one very simple reason: to save time, nerve, and energy for further balanced and cogent use of these valuable assets.
By Nugzar B. Ruhadze
