By David Hegg
It is increasingly apparent that what makes for a good news day and a good life are polar opposites. As a nation, I greatly fear we are becoming addicted to the spectacular, the extraordinary and especially the bizarre. And it isn’t just the media that is fueling this.
Deep inside, we are people bored with life, despite the gadgets, gizmos, and outrageous happenings we believe can offer some small bits of excitement. We check our messages, emails and tweets incessantly against the chance that something new and interesting can be found. And with 24-hour news apps, we can be the first to know when a new song breaks out, or a celebrity does something crazy and lands in jail.
Our lives are caught in a harmful cycle. We’re just not that excited about the ordinary, so we seek out the extraordinary to relieve boredom, but the relief doesn’t last long. Pretty soon, we’re right back where we were, looking high and low for another fix.
This explains our constant drive for the newest thing or the best story. It’s why we must have the newest gadget when it comes out and sleep in line to get the best deals on Black Friday. Our boredom with life compels us to find something – anything! – to bring some small spark of excitement into our otherwise........