People think I'm nuts when I tell them I ditched subscriptions for those sites and only check them maybe once a week, if that.

But what you said is 100% true, it's fine. When things in your life provide net negative value it's in your best interest to ditch them.

> When things in your life provide net negative value it's in your best interest to ditch them.

Let's ditch politicians. :-)

Being able to check out is something of a privilege. Some folks have to know when masked men are surging into the neighborhood because they don't pass as white, speak Spanish, and don't want to be assaulted. Being a citizen and carrying your original birth certificate may not be enough.

you don’t need any of the mentioned periodicals for that. m

Fair point. But I was addressing leaving the phone at home to "check out". Because without a phone you'll just have to hope you see the masked men before they see you.

I agree with this in general but with caveats. For example I think reading national-sized news every day sucks. But if you're of a specific demographic it might be useful to keep pretty up to date on nuanced issues, like if you're a gun owner you will probably want to keep up to date on gun licensing in your area. Or if you're a trans person it's pretty important nowadays to be very aware of laws being passed to dictate your legally going to whatever bathroom or something.