Topics Ethics

Question Is it unethical to avoid watching or reading the news?

Accepted:
June 13, 2013

Comments

What a great question! Though (fair warning): I may not be the most impartial panelist to reply as I come from a family that helped start a modest, and yet municipal newspaper, and I was brought up with being instructed by parents that, no matter what my politics, I should read at least one daily paper, and one weekly magazine! Moreover, I have actually sought to follow this practice, but I shall do my best in the following reply.

As my goal is to offer an interesting reply, let me set aside some perhaps obvious reasons why it would not be unethical to avoid watching or reading the news. So.... I shall assume that there are many reasons why it would be perfectly fine for you or I "to avoid watching or reading the news" such as: we have reason to believe that the news is being used by the state to spread disinformation and watching or reading it will not aid us in combatting this abuse; we are engaged in honorable life-saving jobs that leave us no time to keep up with the news; we are terminally ill and need to focus on donating our estate to the American Philosophical Association, and so on.

Let me move on to present a response (alas, quite different from a reply or an answer):

Setting aside cases that might have common sense solutions, I suggest that there is a good to making some effort to be aware of what is happening to you and in your neighborhood (and what has taken place in the past and what might in the future take place), in parts of the world that may or may not affect you but you could have some impact on (through donations or protests or voting...). So, assuming "the news" is not wildly inaccurate, if the reading or watching can prompt you to take action for some good, then it seems that while it may not be UNETHICAL to avoid the news, there is some reason to at least "keep up" on things.

My reply has been in terms of how watching or reading the news might provide one with the opportunity to at least consider doing something good, but it might be good simply to know about the kinds of things that are occurring during your lifetime even if you have few, if any, opportunities to make a difference. To use a personal example, I was in Israel in 1972 when the Munich Massacre took place. I had done nothing to cause the massacre and nothing to punish those who committed that crime or to comfort those who lost loved ones. ; I was not part of the team that hunted down those who killed those 11 Jewish / Israeli athletes. But I think it was still a good that I was aware of the massacre and feel sorrow and offer prayers. I believe you and I would have been worse off (regardless of politics or religions or philosophy) if we lived through 1972 without following the news.

Question Is it unethical to avoid watching or reading the news? Accepted:June 13, 2013

Question Is it unethical to avoid watching or reading the news?

Accepted:
June 13, 2013