Times are definitely changing, there’s no doubt about it. Our entire lives revolve around technology now – Tweeting, Netflix, Snapping and everything else has completely taken over and restructured our society. Information is everywhere, and so easily accessible at the tips of our fingers, but why don’t we want to see it?
It’s no surprise that in today’s day and age, entertainment is everyone’s primary choice. We all love to watch hilarious Vine videos and check in on our friends’ shenanigans on Snapchat. Social media seems to fill a big void for a lot of us, satisfying this urge to know what everyone is doing.
The news isn’t even a thought for some people. Many scroll through Facebook and Twitter as their way of receiving the latest current events. Some choose not to read or watch the news because it’s “too sad” or they simply don’t care.
But we should care. We need to care. The welfare of this nation depends on your level of information gained and understood. It depends on you taking in unbiased, objective material and forming your own opinions on it. America can’t afford uninformed and/or misinformed voters and activists.
We now live in a world where Photoshop and other editing software can make the most outrageous story seem real, and, unfortunately, people believe those outrageous stories. Additionally, the constant influx of news means it’s easy for it to be skewed, twisted, repackaged and redistributed to the masses, its authors seeking to prey on the misinformed.
An edited photo of a Columbia University ID card depicts U.S. President Barack Obama attending the school as a foreign student under the name Barry Soetoro. The photo was proved false by Snopes.
These outlets also prey on angry citizens who are discontent with the goings-on in politics and the law, who feel comforted by seeing articles or videos that line up with their beliefs or fit their agendas. There are some people who want nothing more than to for people to believe their theories and lies – commonly known as trolls – to further advance national outrage and fear. Something about it is fun to them, but we should all know better if we want America to be better.
Take everything you hear and see with a grain of salt. This nation becomes more and more divisive every day, and some people find great joy in carrying out further division among Americans. Media distrust is extraordinarily low, and these outlets distributing skewed or false headlines are no help.
Opinions are a beautiful thing and we should all have them. They’re our human right and serve as catalysts for effective and healthy debate and conversation. They’re made even better when they are backed up by true and accurate statistics and news, not conjecture and emotion.
Do your own research. Do not qualify what you see on your Facebook feed as true and accurate. Better yet, avoid Facebook news altogether. Use your gut to weed through things that sound like opinion and fear mongering, as they most likely are just that. Do not read articles or watch videos that come from outlets than lean towards one party or fit your views. Seek honest, objective reporting. Honest journalism is not dead. It’s out there, I promise.
