Photo by Utsav Srestha on Unsplash

News is everywhere. Headlines can greet you on the home page of your browser; when you pick up your phone, scrolling your social media feed. You know the sensation: You see a headline. Your thoughts start to race. What? What? What? What if? What if? What if?

We live in anxious times. When we see those headlines, our brains make up stories. It’s a biological design for survival. Can you anticipate where the wild animal might be coming from? To stay alive, you need to imagine danger. In today’s world, it is less useful.

It’s true that we live in an uncertain and dangerous world. There’s plenty to be concerned about in 2025 and for the future. Climate change, demagoguery, outright war. We could create a much longer list.

However, I suggest that 24-hour news access will not help you do the work you are called to do. Doomscrolling does the opposite. You know how it works: you see a headline and you freeze. Your body feels like you are in danger. 

The media gets our attention by raising our anxiety about the future. Instead, I try to ignore news stories that talk about what might happen. After all, anything might happen. I look for news that talks about factual matters. What has happened. Who has said something consequential. What is the content?

Thoughtful people of faith are called to keep their wits about them now. That means prayerfully reflecting on what’s going on in the world. It means thinking through what you think about an issue. Not simply what someone outraged on social media thinks. 

Don’t get me wrong. Outrageous things are happening here and around the world. However, reacting before thinking will not make a difference.

What principles and practices can you develop for yourself about the news? Engage with news on your terms, not someone else’s. Especially not a media company’s terms. They make money by raising your anxiety to get your attention (and your clicks).

Seth Godin wrote in March 2020 (remember that time?), “Being up-to-date on the news is a trap and a scam. Five minutes a day is all you need.” This secular writer transformed my relationship with news. I was letting my time be hijacked by someone else’s agenda. I started limiting my time with news.

I’ll be honest. I still get sucked in. But I’ve gained time and energy to work on what is important to me. Not to mention much greater peace of mind.

Consider developing a “rule of life” in relation to news. St. Benedict in the sixth century developed a rule of life for his communities of monks. The rule involved prayer, work, study, hospitality, and renewal. To this day Benedictine communities practice this rhythm.

How might you bring a practice of prayer into your engagement with the media? It will vary from person to person.

Everyone needs to find their own way. You might ask yourself, how do you want to engage with news? How can you follow news in a way that fits you? What are ways you can stay spiritually grounded and keep yourself informed?

I don’t like to suggest hard and fast rules. However, no one benefits from looking at news on their phone before they get out of bed. Or right before they go to sleep.

Let me share some practices that have helped me manage myself regarding news. They might work for you, or give you more ideas of your own.

1. I stay off online news. One year I gave up online news for Lent. I was so much calmer that I have mostly kept it up. I read a weekly newsmagazine (paper), The Economist. It’s British, so the outside perspective on the U.S. helps me get a little distance. That won’t work for everyone, but it’s helped me. I want to know what is going on in this country and in our world. But I don’t want it to overwhelm me.

2. I pray for leaders every day. As part of my prayer routine, I pray for faith and political leaders. I’ve prayed for the president of the United States by name every day for 25 years. No matter who it is, I just mention his name to God.

3. I pray for a country of the world every day. I use an atlas to pray for one country every day. I’ve been doing this for a few years. I’ve made it around the world several times. When I see a smaller country in the news, I know where it is! I’ve started using the World Factbook site to learn more about the countries. I am more knowledgeable about the world.

4. I practice (a little) contemplative prayer. True confession: I only sit and breathe in prayer for a few minutes a day. Even as little as one to three minutes. My experience with quiet prayer is that one minute is infinitely better than no minutes.

5. I stop and breathe when I feel my heart pounding about some news. I try to remember to pray right in that moment.

How might you be called to prayerfully engage with news on your own terms?