The Malta Independent 17 February 2025, Monday
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Give us a break

Mark Said Thursday, 1 August 2024, 07:39 Last update: about 8 months ago

We are in the midst of another hot summer coming right after months-long sizzling-hot political scandals revealed by the media. It should be a time-off period during which one looks forward to having a break from the continuous heavy dose of partisan politics that has been forced down our throats, but will it be?

We are in dire need of a media temporarily removed from politics. Is there any impossibility of disentangling anything from politics? Why is it impossible to have any stories that have nothing to do with politics?

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Politics is an interesting phenomenon. It’s amazing how it governs society, creates a system of rules, and incarcerates those who violate it.

Yet these very systems and the people who dictate them have unchecked power, which renders them a deceitful system that persists in straying away from the primitive ideal of democracy.

As a result, citizens, whether local or international, are bombarded on the news and media outlets with both the autocracy and the greatness of the different parties in the same system.

It can get trivialising to read the triumphs of your preferred political party, but it can also be equally aggravating when non-supporters spew words of contempt and bitterness about how the said party handled a crisis.

This can get overwhelming.

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with the news, but I know I need a time-out.

Unprecedented political scandals, bad governance, gender inequality, the cost-of-living headaches, construction mayhem galore, climate change, not to mention nihilistic politics and the blather surrounding last June’s European Parliament and local council elections—everything feels like it is coming to another boil this summer.

Politics is no longer something that affects people every five years during election season. It seems to be seeping into daily life. But we just don’t know much about the day-to-day impact politics might have.

Researchers have been analysing the effect of political news consumption on mental health, and the results are not great. Regular exposure to the news through social media is associated with an increase in depression and PTSD.

We’re constantly bombarded with news everywhere we look, with it no longer confined to traditional news outlets. It is plastered over our social media feeds and intrinsic to our everyday lives. No matter where in this small country you are, whether it’s a very recent election that had your heart frantically pounding, another populist group gaining traction, a new emerging national crisis, fragile public security, or the latest update on a little-known threat, the list is endlessly depressing.

For many, the news is no longer just informing us about the Malta we live in; it induces anxiety, sleepless nights, existential crises and depression among us.

It begs the question, then: why don’t we just turn it off? What are we really achieving by absorbing all of this information to just be angry and upset at every tragic thing that’s occurring right now? Even when it’s about our very own human rights that are being snatched away or that we’re still trying to obtain, like not being able to breathe or walk safely outside our home, it can be frustrating, tiring and feel fruitless.

We used to get a summer break from politics. Not anymore. Politicians once held off on campaigns until some election date was approaching, but in a divided and smartphone-addicted nation, there's no summer break from politics.

And smartphones also mean politicians can never really relax in public, even on vacation. They are constantly going to be on guard that there’s going to be somebody there with an iPhone and a hostile question. They have to be aware that there are people there to stir controversy, and someone will film.

Critics of the August holiday might note that the nation’s problems don’t take the summer off, so neither should politicians.

Our politicians seem to have given up on refurbishing their souls and getting their batteries all charged up before plunging back into politics in the autumn.

August’s heat is now political. It used to be that even the most addled political junkies got to dry out in August. Years ago, if news broke in August, one could hardly find a politician to interview. Even ordinary voters can no longer expect any summer respite from politics.

One hopes the August of an off year like the one next year, when there’s neither a general nor a midterm election at all, will turn out to be as quiet as politics gets. But even the quiet moments of Maltese politics these days can be cacophonous.

There’s no such thing as political downtime anymore.

Year after year, we have had political propaganda overspill into August, September or October, seeing tempers frayed, mental fatigue and exhaustion, and minds on such matters as the approaching election campaigns.

Yet, there is still hope. Strategies to limit doomscrolling and engage in positive activities may offset the detrimental effect of engaging in these behaviours.

There is no point in us living if we can’t take in moments of pleasure in between smashing the oligarchy and nepotism, fighting for equality and meritocracy, or fundraising for political causes.

These breaks from politics can make us better at focusing our energies when fighting for causes close to our hearts because we will have the rest in between that is needed. Much like at work, when you are supposed to take a break from the desktop screen to prevent eye strain, we need to take a political or activism break so that we are more efficient in our fight and it is not to the detriment of our wellbeing.

 

Dr Mark Said is a lawyer

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