One day, while trying to avoid doing my homework, I thought it would be a good idea to be a better citizen of these United States by paying more attention to the news. Instead of just watching the celebrity interviews on “Good Morning America” or getting the days headlines from “Live! with Kelly,” I was going to seek out quality, informative news content.
Figuring the best way to do this was by setting a better homepage on my browser, I actually Googled “What is a good news website?” It would seem my search engine techniques need improvement, because a website came up that offered only positive news stories. While this is a lovely idea (especially since I call the local news “the bad news”), I did not think it would give me the most realistic outlook on the world. People I want to impress would be talking about the Iran-Israeli conflict, but all I would have to contribute to the discussion was news of a dolphin saved by a nearby surfer; an uncomfortable situation to say the least. What’s more, if you wanted to read any of this positive website’s articles, you need a paid subscription. So only the bad news is free? No, thank you.
Anyway, while I realize being informed is extremely important to me seeing as I like to have a say in “adult” conversations—and having a strong, informed opinion is the only way to do that—it is rather difficult. It is next to impossible to take in so much information, all while assessing whether a source is bias or even credible. Our generation tends to believe that anything put in front of our faces is straight-up fact, and that is a hard habit to break.
Take, for example, last week’s web-wide frenzy of Kony 2012. Although a select few Facebook users and tweeters posted negative commentary on the integrity of Invisible Children’s mission and monetary transparency, many more just followed the trend, tweeting and posting statuses left and right. While this trending phenomenon was amazing and inspiring, I wanted to know what I was talking about before I offered up my opinion to the world. I did not know which side of the Kony-credibility debate to go with, so I attempted to do my own research. After an hour of web surfing, I still had not made up my mind. Instead of forming an opinion, I grew more confused and more aware of how complicated and sucky the world can be. That good news website was starting to sound pretty good again.
Beyond the Kony 2012 example, it is worth noting that ignorance is, in fact, bliss. As soon as I try to wrap my head around the multitude of both national and international news stories, I feel like I am being swallowed up in huge, awful awareness. One thing I know for sure about myself is that I am the kind of person who always tries to think of solutions for small, personal problems, even if other people do not see why something is an issue in need of fixing. On a larger scale, I used to watch the news with my mom and always say, “Why don’t they just [fill in the blank with overly optimistic, unrealistic solution]?” In one newscast I single-handedly solved the Iraq War, the Housing Crisis of 2008 and the immigration debate. Piece of cake.
So being the “pro-change” person that I am, I feel pretty sucky when I read the news and know with my whole heart that I can never and will never be educated enough to understand, much less solve, these serious issues. But now the question is: Do I subject myself to bad news for the sake of being informed, or should I stick to getting my news from Facebook and Steven Colbert as my peers do?
Regardless, I just hope someone gifts me a subscription to www.goodnewsnetwork.org for my birthday this year, because frankly people, this world is a ridiculous, chaotic place, and I need to know the next time a dolphin gets saved.
Willing to improve Emily’s mood with a subscription to the Good News Network E-mail Emily at elindeman@wisc.edu and let her know.
