Deluge of Information – Blessing or Bane

• Enforced lockdown courtesy COVID 19 has confined majority of the humanity to their
  respective habitations out of fear of contracting the dreaded virus. Social distancing has
  indeed become the new norm and available options of keeping oneself entertained is solely
  dependent on diverse media platforms – print as well as digital. Live streaming of latest
  updates captioned as “Breaking News” are nothing short of breaking our hearts and resolve
  amidst pall of gloom / devastation witnessed all around.

PC: 949 Power FM

• Indisputably, the humanity has stood up to many such epidemics / pandemics in the past too
  but uninterrupted concentration of the media on the present crisis has crossed tipping
  point, I fear. No arguments would stand ground questioning the intention of the media
  houses to beam live updates for the benefit of the discerning lot but question here is are
  they going overboard in their endeavor? As we debate, scores of lives are lost to other
  diseases / illnesses too alongside monumental human errors like road accidents, just to
  name a few.

• It’s not lost on the discerning populace that mere cursory reporting ensues on the lesser
  glamorous occurrences viz. TB / HIV / Accidents / other life-threatening illnesses rather than
  decent if not extensive reporting on the same. As a negative fallout, falsely premised scare
  and rumor mongering owing to hugely popular social / digital media platforms has gained
  traction beyond one’s imagination. Majority of people are glued to these mostly disruptive
  modes of information platforms obsessing over disseminating such ‘Breaking News” further.
• Point to ponder over here is whether such all-encompassing coverage helps in assuaging
  grave concerns of the populace or is it advisable for the general public to divert attention on
  their own to something which is not morbid at all? I would gladly prefer the latter in the
  present situation simply because staying positive, upbeat and light headed should take
  precedence over devouring morbid news. Make no mistake, media platforms deserve our
  wholesome appreciation for risking their lives and beaming latest information to our homes
  though.

PC: freestockcenter

• Argument put forth here is to not demonize / belittle contributions of media platforms
  during challenging times but to offer options to people to diverge from disturbing news
  bombardment. Plentiful options are indeed available to occupy our distracted minds and
  frayed nerves away from surfeit of COVID 19 related information. Any takers for classical
  movies, songs, board games, card games, cooking, mono-acting, writing etc.? Find your way!