Thanks to the news, I am always aware of whatever is happening in the world. The United States is struggling to convince the anti-vaxers to take their Covid-19 shots. The Taliban has grabbed power in Afghanistan. The Indian government has unveiled a new education policy.
Now once I have read an article or an editorial on any of those topics, I have an opinion on them. This opinion is automatic – I now care about those issues.
However, there is an asymmetric power relationship between those issues and me. By gobbling up a significant part of my attention and making me feel a certain way, those issues have some power over me. On the other hand, I have no influence or power over any of their outcomes.
As Naval Ravikant says, the news media’s business model is based on making every problem in the world your problem.
Observations 