No less than fifty times a day, my phone makes a telltale “bing!” and a news alert appears on my home screen, forcing me to make the choice–click it, or swipe it into oblivion?

Click, and I go down a rabbit hole, only to emerge hours later in a startled panic as I realize half the day is gone, and that I just finished reading a story about the social impact of malls.

If I choose to swipe, I stand the chance of missing something, losing out on key information, excluding me from conversations privileged to those who chose click.

With the rise of technology like smartphones, and their ability to alert their owner at the very instant an event occurs, people have become hyper-aware of the news. This rise in the speed with which we receive the news has coincided with other advancements, such as social media, to create a news environment that is drastically different from that of former generations. These changes and the rate at which they are occurring have forced many to ask whether it is worth trying to keep up.

As the avenues through which information is accessible to the consumer change, and as we see great social and political change occur nearly every day, the idea of avoiding the news has become increasingly popular. The idea is this–by avoiding the news, be it through one’s phone, television, or other means, we can decrease our exposure to harmful or misleading information that would have a negative effect on our lives.

The nature of how news is prioritized plays an important role in the rise of this movement. The reality is this–more shocking headlines get more clicks, retweets, and attention than any feel-good story, on average, could ever get close too. A story about a local charity making an impact will almost always get buried behind pages and pages of headlines detailing the worst aspects of the day’s events.

Looking at that kind of news–for days, months, even years on end without reprieve–is going to have an effect on one’s mental state. The choice between staying informed and staying sane is one that many people have had to face, with a great many opting for the latter, choosing to step away from the barrage of the media.

With this, comes hope for a reality in which lives will be altered for the better by avoiding a rise in negative media.With this newfound freedom, though, also comes the opportunity of missing out on important events, and those who do so may stand the chance of missing out on important stories or information that could come to affect their day–to–day lives.

This risk is greater or lesser depending on who is taking it, and at Parker, a small community with a large investment in the world around us, reading the news and being informed on daily events can be a powerful resource and, in some circles, a necessary tool.

That’s why, in a world in which being constantly informed is vitally important, removing yourself from the news is simply too big a risk.

In a school in which current events are prioritized in a number of different curricula, lagging behind or not receiving certain information can take a lot away from your education, your ability to interact with students and teachers, and your growth as a learner.

Obviously, as with anything, too much of a good thing can be dangerous. A hyper-focus on the news—constantly refreshing your phone to see what is going on around the world—can give you blinders and render you unaware of your surroundings.

Finding a middle ground between these two extremes is hard to do–and is going to be different for every person. Your particular news consumption should revolve around who you are and what you do, and as long as it’s benefiting your mental health, education, and other important aspects of your life, then it is doing its job.

The news should inform your life and the decisions you make, not control them completely.