Without raids or regular updates: the Israelis who decided to cut themselves off from the news

The viewing habits of many Israelis have changed in the last 11 months, since the war began. Along with those who are glued to the screen and the incessant stream of news, there are also those who have actually decided to disconnect after they felt that the prolonged viewing affects their lives and their souls. Psychologically: “Watching television maintains constant tension, a feeling of ‘being on guard’, as if knowing in real time about the atrocities somehow protects or immunizes against their consequences”For 11 months now, Israel has been embroiled in a severe war, and the pace of shaking events is unimaginable, in the north, in the south, in the center. Alongside many of the Israelis who are close to the screen and are updated at any given moment on what is happening, there are those who have already had enough and have actually decided to disconnect, stop watching the news and try to lead a more relaxed life. Some of them decided on this recently due to the anxiety that came due to the prolonged viewing, and others testify that they have been maintaining such a routine for many years, and the war only sharpened for them the correctness of the choice they made.

“My partner and I haven’t watched TV for years, we’re not connected to cable, we don’t have the news channels, and the TV we have is only for watching movies or series on Netflix,” says Sarit Yaacov from Kiryat Ata. “We decided on this because we felt that everything is biased, that it is rare to get the truth by watching the various channels and that we don’t trust anyone.” According to her, following the events of Shiva in October, and due to the uncertainty and scope of the attack, the two deviated from their norm. “On the seventh of October, I turned on the TV. It was impossible not to follow the events, so we watched the news for the first few days. I left the screen open, without sound, to keep up to date, but after ten days it already felt too much for me, it was enough for me. It only sharpened me The choice we made. I realized that I can glance at it from time to time, it’s important for me to have control over what I hear and who I listen to. I see what happens to the people around me. They have no life, and the endless talk Hearing on the channels enters their thoughts even when the television itself is off, they don’t have a single minute of inner silence during the day.”

With Sarit’s mother, on the other hand, a different process took place. She has always watched TV religiously and kept up to date with the news. However, in recent months she decided to take a step back. “My mother will be 88 soon, and she is suffering from everything that is happening now. She was always connected to television and the news, but recently she felt anxiety, that she could no longer stand it. She was surrounded by sadness and heavy pain for what happened, for what her generation suffered, and she It reached a point where she was unable to function. Although it was difficult for her to disconnect, she finally did so. Today she only sees one or two updates, and she is slowly getting back to functioning.”

“If I hear an alarm, we’ll go into the emergency room. Until then, I don’t want to hear about anything bad happening.”

A colleague from Jerusalem does not see news. “This is a conscious decision I made several years ago. At some point in my life, I realized that it just hurts my soul, and even makes me consume sedatives. I know it’s a kind of disconnection, but when the mind is unable to contain all the bad things that happen here, it’s better to stay away from information Violent and negative. I prefer to read a good book before going to bed, or spend time with the children. I don’t know if it works for me. Until then, I don’t want to hear about anything bad happening.”

Even among the younger generation, those who live the social media, apps and updates, there are those who felt that the constant update of the situation affects them negatively. “A few months after the war started, I downloaded all the notifications from the news apps on my phone, and I almost completely stopped watching news on TV,” says Noa (pseudonym), 30 years old from Holon. “I’m still exposed to all kinds of things on Instagram, and you can’t completely keep it away, but I try not to delve into it, it’s not in front of me all day like it was before because I just felt it wasn’t doing me any good. Every moment there’s something else stressful, missiles in the north, Deaths in the war in Gaza, and also articles in the news about all the difficult stories, it just brought my mood down and I felt like I couldn’t lift myself up.”

In contrast to them, Assaf (pseudonym), 45 years old from Modi’in, says that in the last 11 months he is more connected to news and updates than ever before. “I used to hardly ever watch the news, really only occasionally. But since the war I feel that I have to be updated all the time. I have notifications from almost every possible website. I can’t help but watch, because then I feel that I’m not connected, that I don’t know what Happens around me, and these days something happens every minute, I don’t want to miss the important things.” He adds that he recognizes the consequences of the non-stop viewing on his soul, so in recent weeks he has been trying to find some sort of balance and disconnect a little. “I see what kind of mood I’m in after I watch hard articles, or I hear endless talk about the precarious political situation, so I try to keep up to date with events, but not get drawn into it. Let’s say if there’s a hard article or testimony about the horror stories, I change the channel. It’s not that I don’t care or it’s not important for me to hear the evidence, I’m just trying to protect myself and my soul.”

“The more television you watch, the worse your mental and physical health tends to be”

Dr. Eidit Gutman, clinical psychologist and lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Tel Aviv University, explains that “television is a cheap and tempting option, with features that magnetize attention and attention, and make it difficult to ignore or even break free from the viewing marathon.” According to her, an overdose can be harmful. It has been found in the medical literature that the more television you watch, the worse your mental and physical health tends to be. Watching television by its nature is a passive activity, in which excessive concentration may come at the expense of physical activity, social gatherings and original initiatives.” The doctor adds that “while a correlation has been found between excessive viewing and the risk of mental problems, controlled experiments have found an improvement in the physical and psychological condition following a reduction in hours television”.

Watching the news around the clock, the doctor says, maintains a constant tension, a feeling of being on guard, as if knowing in real time about the atrocities somehow protects or immunizes against their consequences. “Watching actually takes away emotional resources, disrupts the filling of psychological batteries and leaves the viewers in a state of stagnation, without feeling that they can influence reality.” She also points out that especially videos with harsh scenes have the potential to be harmful to the soul.

“Watching actually takes away emotional resources, disrupts the filling of psychological batteries and leaves the viewers in a state of stagnation, without feeling that they can influence reality”

Dr. Eidit Gutman, clinical psychologist, Tel Aviv University

Riki Meiri, a psychotherapist, marriage and family therapist and professional manager of the clinical unit at Netal, says that since October 7, thousands of calls have been received to the help lines of Netal, a jump of hundreds of percent from previous years. “Some of the inquiries were from people who watched the events on television, and we identified symptoms similar to those of post-traumatic stress disorder, such as hyperarousal, avoiding meeting people, seclusion at home, and the like.”

Meiri explains that at the beginning of the war, many felt the need to be updated all the time. “Amidst the uncertainty, they needed the oxygen of the news to feel in control of their lives, they felt obligated to be on apps and connected all the time.” However, as the event escalated and continued, people began to develop defense mechanisms to help them cope with the situation, which included disconnecting from the news. “We know today that post-trauma can occur even after exposure to content in an indirect way, partly by watching television, since media flooding definitely makes the brain work overtime. The broadcasts today take place from anywhere and the cameras are everywhere, even if they are military events or a chase After terrorists as we remember from the severe attack in Dizengoff about two years ago, and in fact the brain does not know the difference, since it is on television and not something close to us. As a result, the amygdala region of the brain transmits to the body that there is danger, that it needs to be defended, and this may produce a trigger and post-traumatic symptoms.”

According to Meiri, each person has a window of endurance, through which information penetrates that goes through an automatic process of processing. “The horrific events that we have all been exposed to on the networks and on television are the type of events that break the window of our endurance, similar to a tank of water that slides over the stove, and then the information rushes through the body without being processed and can be a trigger for difficult feelings.”

“It’s important to stay informed, but everyone needs to understand what’s right for them, and when watching it triggers symptoms that should turn on a light bulb. We’re all in a state of constant uncertainty, we’re all still in the event”

Ricky Meiri, psychotherapist, Natal

But is it precisely in these stormy days that the connection of the citizens to what is happening is not important? “Everything depends on the state of our emotional container,” she says, “if I can contain the event, feel the togetherness, motivate action, that’s great.”

Meiri points out that the recommendation among professionals is to keep a dose when it comes to news updates. “Something is right for everyone. We do recommend our patients to be connected, but it’s a question of dosage. It’s important to stay informed, but everyone needs to understand what’s right for them, and when viewing triggers symptoms in them that should turn on a light bulb. We’re all in a state of constant uncertainty, We are all still in the event, with some kind of arousal. Real rehabilitation will only be possible when the war is over and we can return to some kind of balance, right now it’s like throwing oil into a boiling pot.”