Back in the day, when I was a wee little lad, life was so much simpler. We had two primary sources of news; the evening news on one of three television stations, and the daily newspaper. For the most part, we would not hear of major news stories until the end of the day, or the following day. Compare that to the present. According to USA Today there are now over three thousand (3,000!) news outlets just in the U. S.. As I look back, what a blessing it was to live so peacefully in relative blissful ignorance of what was going on around the country.

With the emergence of smart phones, we now have the latest breaking news in real time, disrupting our lives constantly. We can be in the middle of enjoying life when we get that digital tone and/or vibration, and we are compelled to stop what we are doing to see what’s happening. “Hold the phone” ( pun intended), there must be something important happening somewhere that probably doesn’t affect me, but that I need to know about. Depending upon how your phone is set up, these alerts can be about the most trivial things-a celebrity gets arrested, the latest trade rumors, what someone posted on Twitter or X, and so on. As the Eagles sung so prophetically, we really are prisoners of our own device.

A correlation can be made between instant news access and a rise in the rate of anxiety and depression. Two studies I read recently, suggest that the anxiety rate of younger adults has gone up 90% since 2005. I’ve personally spoken with people who are extremely anxious about world events, things out of their control that may have little if any impact on their daily welfare. Much energy and emotion is spent on the what-ifs of future things that may never happen, but are causing stress-related illnesses in the present. Even those who profess a faith in Christ get caught up in the chaos of too much information.

I don’t have my psych degree, but there are some things I’ve incorporated to make my life more peaceful in a world that would compel me to worry. The first one is simple in theory but difficult to commit to-just unplug! Remove any news apps on your phone, or at the very least, turn off instant notifications by turning off sound and vibration alerts. Don’t let an alert disrupt a game you are playing with your kids or a nice dinner with your spouse or a round of golf with the boys. If you aren’t personally being attacked by enemy aircraft, it can wait. The second is based on sound Biblical principles found in numerous passages. We are told in Philippians to be anxious about nothing, but instead pray about everything. 1st Peter reads to cast all our cares and concerns upon Christ. John 16 says we can have peace in a world of trouble because Christ has overcome the world. And again in Philippians, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ.

Find those things that that give you serenity, a walk in a park, a soothing soak in the tub, that book you’ve been meaning to read, a glass of wine while listening to your favorite music. Google scriptures about peace and read everything the Word has to say about attaining and keeping peace in your life. Turn your Too Much Information into Try More Introspection, and filter out those thoughts and feelings of anxiety that serve only to impact the quality of your day. The unseen forces that wage war for our souls will use any weapon proven effective, especially fear over future events. Would you invest in a stock for a company that is not yet in business? Then stop investing emotions into events that have not and may not happen. Instead, seek out peace and enjoy life a little longer.