Hi, Stranglehold, welcome to PsychCentral (PC).

I would add to your change, not watching TV news or other shows about the sorts of things you end up feeling badly about or reading about them on the computer, etc. Reduce the amount of "watching" you do and try to get out more and talk to actual people. It sounds like you have been interacting with the news rather than with people! So, of course you cannot find others to see eye-to-eye with, your self-imposed perspective has been limited mostly to grim topics.

It is not that other people are more shallow than we are or not as smart, etc. it is that we are not engaged in actual life but only with ourselves so we are the ones who have no experience with life. Go to the grocery store and chat with the grocery clerk on your way out and take a cooking class and learn to cook well for yourself (you are worth it!) and join a reading or study group where you can discuss things with others rather than just ruminating on your own with no fresh thoughts and ideas not your own coming in to refresh your outlook.