Some people suck all the air out of the room. You know the kind.

Some people try to suck all the air out of the internet. You also know the kind.

What do we miss when the signal-to-noise ratio is self-cancelling? How much valuable information might we be missing when a small cast of characters forever desperate for attention floods the airwaves with endless “look at me” pageantry?

I don’t need to hear anymore for a long time about Elon Musk. I don’t care about his transformation of Twitter into X and whether advertisers will embrace it. X is not a town square I frequent. It’s CB radio. Who listens to ads on CB radio? Let’s call the Isaacson biography definitive and put this subject matter on the shelf for a decade to see if it improves with age.

Hunter Biden has humiliated himself, his father, and the nation. He doesn’t have the good sense to retreat, apologize for abusing privilege, and start the long road toward repentance. Instead, we get to hear that he has done nothing wrong and will fight back with every resource someone else is willing to fund on his behalf.

The only thing I want to hear about Sam Bankman-Fried is when he’s going to be convicted of felony fraud. The human interest story around the benevolent “why” of his deception crimes is manufactured and disingenuous. A con man of this magnitude is unworthy of sympathy.

Lauren Boebert doesn’t know how to behave like an adult at a musical on tour. End of salacious story. I don’t care if she claims the reason she is disgracing herself is because of the lingering effects of her divorce. If you have no manners, don’t go to the theater, stay home. Oh wait, she has a seat in Congress.

Senator Bob Menendez gets caught with a room full of gold bricks and suit pockets stuffed with cash but doesn’t have the good sense to resign. Now we have to listen to why he is being victimized and will fight to retain his office no matter what. This is not a noble fight. He ought to slip away quietly while he can.

George Santos won’t go away. He can’t stop lying. There is not a token of substance in any proclamation he utters. Turn off every microphone in his reach forever.

Does it occur to any of these people or the media covering them that they are unworthy of this much attention? Has the notion of humility and decorum so left the public stage that none of these people can muster the good sense to be quiet? Is the media so equally desperate to remain relevant that it has found symbiotic bonding with a nucleus of spotlight seekers who revel in the throes of attention?

I won’t even embark on our upcoming election. Consequential? Yes, beyond belief. Filled with vital news or endless, self-aggrandizing, lowbrow drama. Yours to channel choose.

I have written before about noise and how necessary it is that we navigate it to sane retreat. The cacophony of attention-seekers can make us numb to more inspiring stories of triumph and self-sacrifice. Gossip may grab headlines, but it teaches us little. There are always voices fighting to break through the rancor and tell us things we need to hear.

Voloydymr Zelensky wants us to know what is really happening in Ukraine, why his people are giving their lives, and the threat Putin poses to the world order. Do we have time left to listen?

Children of 9/11 fallen firefighters are stepping into the shoes of their parents and joining FDNY to continue a legacy of public service. Their parents were brave and made the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of others on that unforgettable day. Do we know who they are or how their lives unfolded?

In each of the ceaseless weather disasters we’ve heard about — wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, you name the storm — there are heroes who have selflessly saved lives, risked their own, rebuilt communities, and never given up caring for those in need. How many of their names do we know? Can we follow their living examples if we never learn what they discovered?

There was a time not long ago when getting attention was something people earned for doing good, not asking to be celebrated, and then quietly ceding the platform to someone else worthy of a big moment. I remember it well. I think maybe it was right before the advent of social media.

We live in a world of TikTok attention spans where every mobile phone is a video window to the world, but can we tell the difference between useful information and filled space? There will always be those with an insatiable appetite for celebration whether they’ve earned it or not, but changing the channel is always our choice.

Don’t be misled and don’t waste your time. There is usually a better story to hear. It just might take a little extra tuning to tune in something worthy of your attention.

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Photo: Pexels