My Mom is always watching the news and it adds to her depression and bad attitude. Does anyone else have this issue?

I finally deactivated my Facebook account. Every day I was getting these heartrending stories about people abusing, torturing and doing every cruel unimaginable thing to their pets, other people's pets etc. I received one the other day which looked pretty innocent. A guy boiled water on his stove and when his cat came to the door.............well you get the picture. I just rehear the screams from that cat every minute. So...........no more FB for me. And yes, I did try to reset my settings to weed out those stories but I guess since I'm an animal lover they just somehow found me. So.............good riddance FB!

Yes 8 am until bedtime of CNN! It does seem to cause added depression. I've been keeping my mom busy now and less tv. Oldies are great, and some old documentaries in place of the news. I also showed mom how to find music channels on the tv. She likes that, she can pick the genre of music she likes.

This used to be a problem for my mother. Fox News all day/every day! And when I stayed overnight with her after her surgery three years ago, it was even going throughout the night.

I don't hear that much about what she's heard/seen on Fox News anymore, though. I think her hearing's gotten worse, she isn't following what they say, or she just doesn't care.

I used to get her books from the library, and she doesn't even want that anymore, either.

She does get the newspaper two days/week, and she does still think she's a financial guru and try to tell us things from the financial news.

Soaking up the news also feeds their fears and anxieties. It’s a bad cycle.

How'd I miss this thread? Fox News, trump etc....Good stuff.

Wonder how much was deleted by ad min.

My 87 yr old mom gets more upset by the local "Crash and Burn" news. She wants me to get them a security alarm system. She can hardly use a phone. I can just imagine the fun we'd have with silence codes, false alarms to the cops, resetting issues. Ain't gonna happen.

Owl, Turner Classic Movies has oldies, sometimes good ones w/o any crime or violent activity. Another station which I can't remember now also has those marvelous old Jeannette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy movies.

Blackhole, I think you're right about the cycle of bad news, especially that coming from Puerto Rico. The extent of the devastation is unimaginable. Add to that the mass shootings, plus the political fiasco and shananigans...

Sometimes I watch This Old House just for relief; I can't understand what the tradesmen are doing with all the new and probably expensive devices for renovated houses, so I'm lost in seconds, and that confusion replaces the anxiety of the cable news channels and their endless parade and endless obsession with the playpen that the White House has become.

Windy, after my house was burglarized a decade ago, I investigated various types of alarms. One I discovered would have been very effective, but would also have disrupted life in the surrounding areas. It didn't just alarm, it played some kind of trumpeting sound accompanied with strobe lights. I can't remember what it was called.

It probably would have scared all the four-legged wildlife away as well.

But the audaciousness of it is comparable to the audaciousness of the political performances on center stage now. ...sometimes like entry of a Roman legion....cue the mikes, lights, cameras, grab the podium, turn one way or another while letting hair flop in face. It's like an orchestrated comedy.

My goodness, after the last 8 years, anything, even Trump, is a relief.

I personally avoid CNN. They take a disaster and make it a six- month story. Run the sad footage over and over and over again. I don't have dementia but watching all that would make anyone depressed. I don't want to hide my head in the sand but there is a limit.

Since 9/11 I've had a personal dinnertime news curfew -- no hard or upsetting news from dinner on. However, my loved one likes to watch news at almost any time of day, and listen to NPR a lot, too. Sometimes I just have to put on earbuds and quietly listen to soothing music to be in my own world of non-news. Also, sometimes I can quickly pull up a relaxing nature program or Antiques Roadshow on the DVR instead of news.....

So I was wandering thru this older thread and found out that Facebook allows animal torture videos. I don't do Facebook, and now will HATE them forever!

mally you are right! That is one of the reasons I canceled my Facebook account.

Hmm. I've never seen an animal torture video on Facebook. Well, unless you count the before pictures of abused animals who have been rescued and are now healthy. I see lots and lots and lots of pro-animals threads. Maybe it is just a matter of who my friends are and therefore what shows up on my feed.

Jeanne I belonged to several animal groups when I was on FB. They know when you look at certain sites and next thing you know you get sent what looks like is going to be a heartwarming video of a cat and you click on it and it's something horrific. I had this happen to me and I was upset for days afterward just picturing it. That happened only once but that was enough for me. Good bye Facebook and good riddance I say.

Yikes, that would upset me too, Gershun. Did you report it to FB? They need to know about it to ban it.

No, Jeanne I didn't. I probably should have.

the trump bump paid for my family vacation to Hawaii with first class hotel. but I guess I could have found something to whine about instead. Mahalo Mr. President.

I use Roku to stream YouTube videos of variety shows (Lawrence Welk) and concerts (Daniel O'Donnell) and MeTV for old TV series (Leave it to Beaver, Perry Mason, Have Gun will travel, etc.) If you get the YouTube Red subscription, you can get ad free content.

I use Roku a lot, too; you only watch what you want.... Christian channels, old movies, classic TV; don't even have regular TV many years now.  I haven't figured out all the ways to use Roku yet, but after paying $25 for it (a deal), it is free, and plenty of time to learn the rest of it.