Diving into news culture: theSkimm
Lately, I've started spending a lot of time reading the news.
It's a habit that's part A) a way to procrastinate 'productively,' B) a little bit of actual desire to learn about the world, and C) something to give me talking points when I have to communicate with adults outside the infamous 'Lee bubble.' Often, though, when I try to talk to peers about the events I've read about, I'm greeted with blank stares. Why don't we care?
Well, we're just barely grown-ups. News is sad' and I don't like sad things. The world is too crazy. What do things halfway around the world have to do with us, anyways? Plus, news is often presented in ways that just don't capture our attention!
Guess what? All that's still not much of an excuse to be willfully ignorant of current events. Something I get a lot from my peers is that 'news is freaky.' Hearing about all of the awful things happening in the world stresses them out. That's life, y'all. You'll have to deal with all that eventually, because we don't have long to hide in the aforementioned 'Lee Bubble.' Now is really the ideal time to start figuring out the best way to learn about current events.
Our world is more connected than ever, and situations overseas could be at our doorstep at any time-- you need to be informed. Keeping yourself up-to-date on what's going on expands your worldview, something we, as citizens of this planet, should be doing at every possible turn. Analyzing news and discovering what your personal beliefs and opinions are is a truly liberating experience. We're adults, and it just may be the time to act like it.
At the same time, I totally get it. I have a hard time focusing on lengthy news articles, and I understand that sometimes you just don't want to deal with unpleasant things. I used to get 90 percent of my news from SNL's Weekend Update, and the other 10 percent from news stories people posted on Facebook. Though when I turned 20 this summer, I decided that maybe it was time to be a 'real' adult and get some news in with my morning coffee.
I started reading headlines on different news sites, but was quickly overwhelmed with the sheer amount of news. It was daunting, and I almost gave up. Then a friend introduced me to the genius concept of theSkim' a daily email newsletter that highlights and breaks down the biggest worldwide news stories. It's easy to understand, informative, and definitely the first thing I'd recommend to anyone looking for a way to break into learning about current events. (Sign up for free at theSkimm.com, and get a daily dose of non-boring, non-overwhelming adulthood before you even get out of bed!) I often do more reading on the subjects that intrigue me the most, but theSkimm ensures that I'm well informed on the top news of the day without any extra sources.
There are tons of ways to break into the world of news' you can even learn about a lot of breaking news via Twitter trends. We're connected in a way no generation preceding us has been, and we need to take advantage of that. Explore all of the information at your fingertips, and get to know about and care for the world around you. You won't regret it.
