JurnalPost.com - On August 21, 2026, Maudy Ayunda uploaded a video titled Mindfulness in the Age of Bad News to her personal YouTube channel. In the video, Maudy shared her personal experience in dealing with the barrage of negative news, both from Indonesia and around the world.
She admitted that constant exposure to negative information left her feeling pressured, frustrated, angry, and even tearful. This condition prompted her to start managing her information consumption so she could continue her daily activities without being constantly emotionally burdened.
Initially, the video did not receive much attention. However, about three weeks after it was uploaded, clips began to circulate widely on social media, triggering a public debate.
The question that arose was actually quite simple, yet held much deeper meaning: is labeling the various crises experienced by the public as bad news a fair perspective for everyone?
What Maudy said about the importance of maintaining mental health is certainly not wrong. Amidst the almost non-stop flow of information, one can indeed experience emotional exhaustion from reading or watching bad news too often.
This phenomenon is known as news fatigue, a condition where someone feels jaded, tired, or overwhelmed by excessive exposure to news.
Reducing information consumption in certain situations does not mean one has lost their sense of care. In fact, taking a break can be a way to maintain mental clarity and remain concerned about social issues in the long run.
However, the issue becomes different when we start questioning who has the opportunity to take that break.
Because not everyone has the luxury of distancing themselves from the reality they are currently facing.
Smoke That Cannot Be Muted
Imagine living in an area shrouded in haze every single day. The air, which should be the most basic necessity, turns into a health threat.
This situation was experienced by communities in several parts of Kalimantan when forest and land fires (karhutla) spread again in 2026.
In Murung Raya Regency, Central Kalimantan, an 11-year-old boy passed away on August 31, 2026, after previously suffering from health issues and respiratory distress amidst the haze blanketing the region.
The Murung Raya Health Office explained that the child's death could not be directly concluded as a result of smoke exposure or acute respiratory infection (ISPA), as the victim also had a history of other illnesses.
This explanation is important so that the tragedy is not simplified into a cause-and-effect relationship that has not been medically proven.
However, the incident still highlights how vulnerable people are when they have to live in an environment with deteriorating air quality.
The threat of forest fires is also felt by the firefighters on the front lines. Two volunteer firefighters in Central Kalimantan, Akhmad Rijani and Ahmadin, were reported to have died after suffering health complications following their firefighting duties.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Health data recorded 50,891 cases of ISPA related to smoke exposure from July to August 2026. Of that number, approximately 12,600 cases involved children under five years old.
These figures are not just statistics appearing on a phone screen. Behind them are families facing anxiety, children needing protection, and communities whose daily activities are disrupted by poor air quality.
For them, smoke is not negative information that can be avoided by closing a news app.
Smoke is something they must breathe. A reality that cannot bemuted, skipped, or stopped just by turning off notifications.
When Nutritious Food Causes Concern
A similar issue is seen in various poisoning incidents related to the Free Nutritious Meal (MBG) program.
The program, designed to improve nutritional fulfillment for the public, especially school children, is facing serious implementation issues.
Based on Ministry of Health surveillance data as of September 2, 2026, presented by Deputy Chairman of Commission IX of the House of Representatives Charles Honoris, there were 560 poisoning incidents related to the MBG program with 50,059 people affected. This cumulative data covers incidents since the program began in 2025, spread across 36 provinces and 245 regencies/cities.
In early September 2026, reports of suspected poisoning also emerged in several regions, including Rembang, Sidoarjo, and Agam.
Before the concerns over these incidents could subside, on September 17, 2026, 37 students in Kediri City were reported to have symptoms suspected to be related to consuming MBG food. Some of them had to receive hospital treatment.
Inspections of the food provider's kitchen in Kediri later found several issues related to hygiene and food processing. Operations at the kitchen were temporarily suspended for evaluation.
This series of events raises a fundamental question: how can a program aimed at improving children's health be repeatedly faced with food safety issues?
It would certainly be unfair to consider the entire MBG implementation a failure just because a few kitchens have problems. The program has an important goal and can provide benefits if carried out with adequate supervision and safety standards.
However, the sheer number of incidents cannot be dismissed as a minor issue.
The National Nutrition Agency itself admitted that non-compliance with standard operating procedures is one of the main problems in cases of health issues related to the implementation of the MBG program.
For parents who have to take their children to the hospital after eating food from school, this problem is not just bad news that can be ignored.
There is real anxiety. There is time, energy, and a sense of security that must be sacrificed.
They are not choosing whether they want to read news about food poisoning or not. They are facing the direct impact of the problem.
Privilege That Needs to Be Questioned
After her video received criticism, Maudy Ayunda provided a response in the comments section on September 13, 2026.
In her response, she acknowledged that there was an important perspective that had not been sufficiently discussed in the video.
“Being able to step away from the news is itself a privilege.”
This statement means that the ability of a person to step away from the news for a moment is a privilege.
Maudy's admission actually touches the core of the issue being debated by the public.
Maintaining mental health through mindfulness is not wrong. Everyone has the right to protect themselves from excessive emotional pressure.
However, the ability to distance oneself from a crisis is often related to the social, economic, and environmental conditions in which a person lives.
For some, social issues appear as information on a phone screen. They can choose when they want to read it, when to stop, and when to return to their normal activities.
Meanwhile, for those directly affected, the same issues are a daily reality.
Parents whose children have been poisoned cannot simply ignore food safety issues. Likewise, people living in areas affected by forest fires cannot choose to stop breathing the air around them.
This is where the difference lies between bad news and bad reality.
Bad news is information about an event. Meanwhile, bad reality is a situation that a person must truly live through, regardless of whether the event is reported or not.
When these two things are viewed as the same problem, there is a risk that structural issues are understood only as a matter of how individuals manage their emotional responses.
In reality, forest fires will not end just because people stop reading news about them. Similarly, food safety issues will not disappear just because the public reduces their exposure to information about poisoning cases.
Both require concrete action, policy evaluation, supervision, and accountability from those in authority.
Maintaining Mental Health Without Losing Social Concern
The debate over Maudy Ayunda's video should not end in an attempt to determine who is right or wrong.
The more important issue is how the public can understand that maintaining mental health and maintaining social concern are not two things that must be pitted against each other.
We are allowed to feel tired of reading bad news. We also have the right to take a break when the information received begins to disrupt our emotional state.
However, that break should not make us forget that the issues being reported are still happening outside the screen.
There are people still facing the threat of haze. There are families demanding food safety guarantees for their children. There are also parties who continue to wait for policy improvements so that similar problems do not recur.
Therefore, conversations about mental health need to go hand in hand with awareness of social inequality.
Not everyone has the same resources, security, and opportunity to manage the pressure from their surroundings.
Awareness of privilege does not mean one should feel guilty for having a more comfortable life. Instead, that awareness can be a starting point to understand the experiences of others living in different situations.
Ultimately, what the public needs is not just the ability to distance themselves from bad news, but also the courage to question why bad reality keeps repeating itself.
Criticism of forest fire management must continue to be voiced. Supervision of MBG food providers must be strengthened. Public safety and health must not stop as a topic of debate on social media.
Because, while maintaining mental health is important, social concern must not lose its place.
We can turn off our phone screens when we feel tired. However, for those facing a crisis directly, reality continues even if no one is watching.
Perhaps the most important question is no longer how we can avoid bad news, but what can be done so that fewer people have to live in bad reality.
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