The Weight of Knowing
I open Instagram for a quick scroll.
And just like that, by mid-morning, I already know another piece of bad news from across the world, some celebrity’s whereabouts, someone’s personal drama, a heated argument between two strangers hiding behind their screens, an influencer telling me how to raise my kids, and an AI health expert telling me I shouldn’t breathe too much.
We live in an age where information is available at the click of a button. That’s amazing, really, but I feel we’ve seriously underestimated how exhausting it is to know so much.
Especially when we don’t even go looking for most of it. The strangest part is how normal this has become. We scroll, read, react, and move on.
Except, do we really?
Some things stay with us long after we’ve put our phones down. A disturbing topic, a heartbreaking story, an upsetting image. We get on with our day, but somewhere in the back of our minds, we’re still processing everything we’ve seen and read.
How often do we feel overwhelmed without realizing where those feelings came from?
It happens to me all the time.
When I sit down to rest, my mind doesn’t. My thoughts keep racing, my shoulders are tense, my jaw is clenched, and I can’t seem to switch off.
So much for taking a break!
I’m not suggesting we should stick our heads in the sand and pretend the world is one big happy place. Far from it. We should definitely speak up against injustice, refuse to ignore tragedies, and listen to people who need us to hear their stories.
What I’m saying is there’s a difference between being informed and having the entire world’s problems shoved into your face.
There’s a difference between finding answers to questions you have, and receiving unsolicited “advice” from people you don’t even know.
All this information is taking up space in my head. Space I actually need.
I have two little girls who need a present mom, work that requires a functioning brain, people I love, things I want to do, and a life I’d quite like to try to enjoy.
But when I fill my mind with too much negativity, I lose focus, run out of patience more easily, and sometimes feel exhausted before the day has even begun.
And I don’t like that.
I don’t want to be so caught up in everything happening everywhere that I miss what’s happening right in front of me. I want to listen to my girls’ endless stories, sit down, write, and enjoy an afternoon without feeling like my brain has been running a marathon.
So lately, I’ve been unfollowing accounts, muting unnecessary noise, leaving group chats, and being more selective about the news I consume. It’s not because I don’t care about the world, but because I really do care.
I would rather give my attention to things that matter than have it scattered across a hundred things I never asked to know.
And if that means missing some world news, arguments, negative information and unsolicited opinions along the way, I think I’ll survive.
Preferably with a cup of tea, a quieter mind, and absolutely no one telling me I’m drinking it wrong.