The Way We Get Our News

For many years, people would get their news from more traditional media outlets such as newspapers, television, and radio. However, with the rise of social media, the way we get our news has drastically changed, at least it has for me.

My social media accounts have become one of the biggest ways I get my news because it is fast-paced and real-time. I am a self-proclaimed political junkie, so I do follow a lot of news outlets, journalists, and political figures, which provides me with a copious amount of news to see any moment of the day. I find myself checking my phone to look at the news throughout the day. It is one of the first things that I do in the morning and one of the last things I do before I go to sleep. For example, I found out that Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away because of a Twitter notification.

However, I do still get a part of my news from more mainstream media outlets. I try to watch the national evening news every day and my local news to keep on track with what is happening in my community and what I might have missed throughout the day. I personally find that getting my local news from mainstream media outlets easier for me. I can easily turn my television on and have the local news playing while I get ready for the day.

Though I still use television to access news, I find myself, like many others, not using print media anymore. According to the Pew Research Center, the age of a person affects how they get their news. The younger demographics tend to use online tools and social media to get their news more, where older demographics rely on mainstream media to get the information. I fit right into this study. I can quickly get national newspaper articles online and sent directly to me through email, and my social media accounts, which makes the need for a physical newspaper is obsolete to me.

It is important to remember that people still have a significant effect on how we get news. It may seem like I am always on my phone or have a television playing, but that is simply not the case. There are times that I have found out about major events happening because of the people I surround myself with. My dad will continuously come and tell me about the news that I have missed, which leaves me to go down a rabbit hole trying to learn more about the situation.

I think it is interesting to take a moment and look at how we get our news, and maybe there are other ways we want to implement it in our daily lives. I have friends that love news podcasts, and that is something I would consider trying out. The most important thing we must do is take the time and take in this news but remember that there are biases, and we should do our own research to make sure things are accurate and we completely understand the situation.