There are many horrific events going on in the world right now. Israel and Hamas were recently firing at each other, an earthquake tore apart Guatemala and citizens in 23 European countries went on strike over a financial crisis; all important events that many people have not heard about. College students should be more mindful of the world around them.
David T. Z. Mindich provides statistics on the subject in his book “Tuned out: Why Americans under 40 Don‘t Follow the News.” In 1973, 74 percent of American citizens in their mid-30s and younger read the newspaper and less than 28 percent do so today. Mindich also stated that only 11 percent of the younger American population checks the Internet for news.
When I read these statistics they did not surprise me, but they did disgust me. Why do so many American citizens not care about the world around them? I think the answer lies in the ways society has changed.
We have far more things to distract us and take up our time than the people in the 1970s did. Some of these things include our Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram and email accounts. We check and update these social media websites daily, and sometimes hourly.
Most major stories in the news affect all of us. Events such as presidential elections, tax reforms and extreme weather warnings are some examples. If people are unaware of these occasions, there could be some heavy consequences. You could accidently find yourself in trouble with the IRS, or in more extreme cases, your life could be in danger.
International news stories are also extremely important to follow. If the U.S. government decided to declare war on another country, or aid other countries suffering natural disasters, the government uses taxpayer money to do so. I don’t know about you, but I like knowing how that money is spent.
It’s also important to follow the news because of the social conversations it can create. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve made quite a few friends because of conversations about current events. These conversations were the start of great friendships that otherwise would not have happened.
The number one excuse I hear people make is they don’t have the time to read the newspaper or watch the news on T.V.
Luckily for those people, they have just invented something called the Internet with many reliable news sources that are available in seconds. Instead of scrolling through Facebook for 10 more minutes, open up a news website, and inform yourself about the world around you. You may be surprised with what you find.
