Develop Greater Silo Awareness. By now, most people are aware that the news sources they select can shape — or distort — their perspective of reality in the political sphere and beyond. Every link you click, even accidentally; every social media headline you pause to read, even briefly; every news story you comment on or interact with, even by way of negative feedback — it all sends algorithmic signals that go on to shape the information flow you’re likely to encounter in the future. 

The fact that your social media feeds may overwhelmingly center one campaign story may tell you little about its actual real-world pervasiveness — or how much your friends, family members and neighbors are encountering the same topic. Thanks to beta testing or updates, even two people reading the same story on the same website may be greeted by different headlines that elicit a different experience and reaction — and never realize that fact. In other words: Just because you haven’t encountered information doesn’t mean it hasn’t been reported, or isn’t important. It’s always worth seeking out a consciously diverse news diet — and an awareness of the fact that no matter the effort you invest, you can’t be certain that yours is complete.  

The First Draft of History Is Rougher than Ever. Information is arriving faster each year — but our own human capacity to piece disparate facts into a coherent, complete whole hasn’t changed. If you encounter a complete news story based on an incomplete and ongoing situation — especially if the headline or frame confirms your priors or comports to your preferred worldview — wait a beat. If it’s an image or video that reaches you via any source that is new to you rather than a longtime purveyor of reliable information, even a seemingly trustworthy one: Don’t trust your lying eyes. We can all consume facts piecemeal, but it generally pays to hold off on drawing conclusions.

Polls Are Snapshots – Not Predictions. Polls are a sort of scientific art — and there are limits as to what even the best of them can tell you. A good pollster will have the desire to police question wording and order for any detail that could elicit distorting data; the resources to connect with increasingly elusive blocs of the electorate; the knowledge to make some educated assumptions about the current shape of the electorate; and, frankly, just a little bit of pure luck to boot. One additional presidential campaign year caveat is that the ubiquitous national polls are far less valuable than the (far fewer) surveys of the handful of states that are likely to decide the outcome. An even bigger asterisk is that any survey, at its best, may accurately capture public sentiment — at least, the views of those individuals in any demographic category who choose to engage and offer their views — over a defined window of time, usually a few days, that represent the past tense even at the moment the results are released. A poll isn’t meant to project future outcomes — just to capture one possible assessment of current sentiment. We still have a few dozen news cycle lifetimes left to go before The Only Poll That Really Matters.

For Editorial Decision-Making, Process Matters. Methods of information-sharing have become more democratic: It can be difficult to quickly discern whether an Instagram post or digital article has emerged from one of the largest, most established professional news organizations in the world, or a lone poster publishing from their basement. The distinguishing factor is the sausage-making you can’t see — the editorial vetting and decision-making involved in unearthing, curating and producing that output — and this is where a little due diligence can provide a baseline sense of confidence, or a warning signal to steer clear. Have those responsible for making difficult decisions laid out their general standards around sourcing, conflicts of interest and other ethical and coverage questions? On those occasions when errors have occurred, have they been publicly transparent about correcting those mistakes, investigating how they occurred and taking action to prevent a recurrence of the problem? If you can’t answer those questions in the affirmative about any news source you encounter, then treat their product with extreme caution.

The People Behind the News Matter. The reliability of the news you consume depends, at its most basic level, on the judgment and expertise of the individuals who gather it in the first place. Humans are imperfect, and even the most battle-tested and well-meaning reporter can have a bad day on the beat — but, speaking as a newsroom veteran, track records do matter. In a profession where your reputation is only as solid as the stories you report, people who put their names on an article or their faces on the air have a vested interest in getting things right — and the ones who break news year after year for organizations with the highest public standards for accuracy act as a critical line of defense in the battle against misinformation and disinformation.

During the Home Stretch, Log Off. Speaking as a longtime political journalist, this advice is painful, but essential. It’s vital to stay educated and informed — and to support objective journalism (a free press isn’t free!). But a news diet is like any other kind, and can benefit from many of the same principles, such as: all things in moderation, and make sure you stop consuming well before bedtime. The human mind wasn’t designed to stay immersed in a fast-moving, high-stakes, high-emotion story like the presidential campaign 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is true even when doing just that is your job! If it’s not, consider limiting your consumption to a few designated windows of the day — and always, always, steer clear of the comments.

Illustration by AdriĂ  VoltĂ .

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Experts: Advice from One Hoya to Another

Sarah Jane Ho (C’07) and Teaching Professor Andrea Bonior provide expert advice on how to live a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life.

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Sara Jane Ho (C’07): Set Digital Boundaries

Much of etiquette has to do with setting and respecting boundaries, and digital boundary setting begins with physical boundaries. If you’re in the presence of someone with a heartbeat, prioritize their feelings. There’s nothing more annoying or potentially hurtful than trying to have a face-to-face conversation with someone who is focused on their screen or constantly checking to see if they have any messages. (One of the most common deal-breakers on first dates is someone continually checking their phone.) If you’re expecting an important call or message, tell the person you’re with in advance and apologize for the possible interruption.

Next are the boundaries we set with ourselves and our devices. Almost all of us are digital addicts to some degree. Our brains need the dopamine hit we get from checking our phones, and they are going to manipulate our behavior to get it. Still, pride and common sense must prevail to some degree. Repeat after me: mute, unfollow, unplug.

Finally, there are boundaries we set with others online. Just because we are technically available 24 hours a day doesn’t mean we should be. Most relationships will not benefit from that kind of unlimited access. But people won’t know what our limits are unless we communicate them, either outright or in a more subtle way. Managing expectations pertains just as much or more to life online as to IRL. Whether we’re talking about friends, lovers, colleagues, or family, decide early in the relationship when and how quickly you want or need to reply. People become conditioned as to what to expect. Don’t respond late at night, for example, if you don’t want to convey availability at that hour. Boundaries can change, but they need to remain comfortable for both sides. 

Sara Jane Ho (C’07) is an internationally-renowned etiquette expert whose approach to comportment centers on self-improvement. This advice is excerpted from her new book, , was published this year following the success of her Emmy-nominated Netflix show of the same name. 

Andrea Bonior: A Focus on Health

Prioritize Sleep. Many of the daily practices that are most helpful for reducing stress are things that we already know we should do, but it’s a matter of starting small to truly prioritize them rather than feeling guilty that we ‘should’ do something and aren’t. If we could just get eight minutes more of sleep per night, that would add up to nearly an extra hour of sleep a week. And sleep deprivation — along with poor quality sleep — is one of the most common contributors to anxiety, and it lowers our resilience to stress.

Start Small. We all likely know that physical activity is good for a mental and physical health, but we often think that requires a big production of going to the gym, when in reality if we were to dance to our favorite songs and get our heart rate up for just 10 minutes regularly, that can grow into a practice that makes a meaningful difference in your mood. I truly believe it’s very important to start with just a few minutes of something that you can do differently, building consistency slowly. Tie the new behavior to something that you do anyway. For instance, I’ve often seen people better able to incorporate mindfulness exercises or meditations when they center them around brushing their teeth because they are used to brushing their teeth regularly and reliably. So, the new habit sticks better when it’s paired to something established. 

Label Your Thoughts. When stress feels really overwhelming, it’s often helpful to use mindfulness techniques to make sure your anxious thoughts aren’t becoming more sticky then they need to be. The heart of mindfulness is being gentle and curious as an observer of your thoughts and physical sensations, rather than beating yourself up further about your thoughts, or giving your anxious thoughts more power because you’re so bothered by them. It’s often helpful to label your thoughts as thoughts, which gives you some distance from them and reduces their power, like “I’m having a thought that I can’t handle this, but I know part of that is my anxiety distorting the situation,” rather than “I can’t handle this!” Zooming out to the big picture and reminding yourself of your values can be helpful, because it can remind you of what really matters to you, and how in the big picture of your life some of our biggest stressors are actually growth opportunities rather than fully “bad” events. 

Connect With Friends. People with whom you feel trust and connection and who appreciate you for who you are are some of the biggest stress relievers that there are. And though the pressure as a busy college student to socialize can feel overwhelming, prioritizing quality time with people whose company brings you joy can help make tough moments easier.

Andrea Bonior is a mental health expert and teaching professor in the . Bonior is a licensed clinical psychologist and the author of the best-selling book Detox Your Thoughts. She hosted the mental health talk and advice podcast Baggage Check, based on the mental health brand she built at The Washington Post. On campus, Bonior leads The Connection Project: Hoyas Connected, a program created at the University of Virginia to help increase a sense of belonging and community among new students.