Poll: How often do you stop work to read the news or otherwise see what is going on?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
SITE STAFF
Apr 19, 2020

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you stop work to read the news or otherwise see what is going on?".

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Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 09:06
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Apr 19, 2020

More often than not, it’s the other way around: I may read or watch the news if I’m taking a coffee break or lunch or whatever. Anyway, my TV is always on, usually on BBC News or Sky News and I get news notifications from a local newspaper when something happens, though if I’m really busy I just delete it without even reading it. My work is more important than a news feed…

[Edited at 2020-04-19 19:43 GMT]


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:06
Member (2008)
Italian to English
All the time Apr 19, 2020

I don't just read the news to see what's going on; I'm involved in it. As a political activist I have a constant stream of mainstream and non-mainstream media things going on there. UK and international. Plus closed email groups and movements of which I'm a member, etc etc. It's all a counterpoint to my activity as a translator. I don't see any separation between my personal life and work, and the socioeconomic/political situation in which we all exist.

"No man is an island,
... See more
I don't just read the news to see what's going on; I'm involved in it. As a political activist I have a constant stream of mainstream and non-mainstream media things going on there. UK and international. Plus closed email groups and movements of which I'm a member, etc etc. It's all a counterpoint to my activity as a translator. I don't see any separation between my personal life and work, and the socioeconomic/political situation in which we all exist.

"No man is an island,
entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
as well as if a promontory were.
as well as if a manor of thy friend’s
or of thine own were.
Any man’s death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind;
and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
it tolls for thee."

John Donne, 1623

[Edited at 2020-04-19 13:35 GMT]
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Jan Truper
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Thayenga
Thayenga  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 10:06
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Seldom, if ever Apr 19, 2020

There is time set aside for working only, and also time available for other things such as reading the news.

Kaisa I
 
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
Yetta Jensen Bogarde  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 10:06
Member (2012)
English to Danish
+ ...
Very frequently Apr 19, 2020

Especially CNN and national news.

Yurim Jung
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 10:06
French to English
. Apr 19, 2020

Too much. But then I don't have enough work to really keep me busy anyway.

 
Jean Dimitriadis
Jean Dimitriadis  Identity Verified
English to French
+ ...
Of edges and swords Apr 19, 2020

Working from a computer which is constantly connected to the Internet can be a double-edged sword.

And I want to keep honing the (single-edged) katana that feeds me, not the feeds that make it blunt.

OK, back to the cutting board…


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:06
Spanish to English
+ ...
Too often Apr 19, 2020

In fact, I'm doing it now (I really should be working)...

Yurim Jung
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Justin Peterson
Justin Peterson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 10:06
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
In Madrid ... news addiction is inevitable right now Apr 19, 2020

I am a bit of a news addict, in general.

And, given the gravity of the situation in Spain, and Madrid ... it's gotten a lot worse :/

Then, as if it were not depressing enough here, I try to stay up on news from the US too

Dark times


Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Yurim Jung
Yurim Jung  Identity Verified
South Korea
Local time: 18:06
Member (2020)
English to Korean
+ ...
Me too.... Apr 19, 2020

neilmac wrote:

In fact, I'm doing it now (I really should be working)...


I have some tasks to do, though... XD


Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 02:06
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Very frequently Apr 20, 2020

Between covid-19 and the upcoming election in the U.S., I can't resist checking up on the news, looking for signs of hope. In between elections, I'm much more disciplined.

 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 10:06
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Not as often as previously Apr 20, 2020

I used to check the news about once an hour, but these days there is practically no news, so now I watch a 5-minute YouTube video once every an hour. Many of the interesting channels have hundreds of videos by this time.

 
Nikolay Novitskiy
Nikolay Novitskiy  Identity Verified
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:06
Member (2018)
English to Russian
I avoid it - reading news is a bad way of recreation Apr 20, 2020

When you translate you overcharge your mind, and then you want to restore yourself making a brake. Reading news is a very bad idea to do this. Exercising, playing with your cat or making some housework is much better. As for the news, I have my lunch to read them.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:06
Member (2008)
Italian to English
News Apr 20, 2020

Nikolay Novitskiy wrote:

When you translate you overcharge your mind, and then you want to restore yourself making a brake. Reading news is a very bad idea to do this. Exercising, playing with your cat or making some housework is much better. As for the news, I have my lunch to read them.


My real interest in what's called "the news" (because it always has to be new) is in how it's spun and manipulated for the purpose of keeping us under control. But like Nikolay, I avoid most of it, most of the time. One of the more worthwhile pieces of advice I heard at the beginning of this crisis was "keep your news-watching down to a minimum or it will drive you nuts".


 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 06:06
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
News Apr 21, 2020

News come to you. You don't really have to go after them. You only have to read more about it if you're interested.

 


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Poll: How often do you stop work to read the news or otherwise see what is going on?






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