May we live in interesting times!

Given the popularity of social media; we now are confronted with

fake news designed to cause divisiveness,
a vehicle to put out our opinions in the absence of a supportive, constructive community dialogue,
increasing feelings of isolation while we are more connected technologically than ever.

Here are 2 things to do and 2 things to avoid to save our mental health and our civil society.

Here are two things to do:

1. Realize that our attention is a choice and be conscious about where we focus it.

2. In conversation, be curious about what experiences have led to someone having a different opinion.

Here are two things to avoid:

Here are two things to avoid:
1. Reading headlines and news (real or fake) that we know will agitate us, and instead figure out how to learn the whole story.
2. Feeding our outrage and helplessness by reading things that are incomplete and/or designed to outrage us.