When evaluating my everyday routine, I had to figure out how I continue to keep myself informed without trying. Within the palm of our hand, we have one of the most powerful devices, yet no one seems to truly appreciate the value they add to our everyday life. Staying informed is crucial to living in today's society. If you are not aware of the flaws and news you are considered uneducated and as if you arent interested in the world that revolves around us. This is how I continue to be active with the help of the media.
Friends and family are one of my most used methods of staying informed and finding out what is going on in the world. From daily conversations to deep discussions about the state of our world and country I become more educated. Hearing other perspectives opens my eyes to a new way of thinking and interpreting issues and daily news. Growing up talking about politics was never discussed, I was completely oblivious of the major issues going on in the world and the country. Coming to college I was looked at as if I was uneducated and didn't care about the state of our country. I quickly realized that living under a rock wasn't going to fly here at High Point University. I started asking questions in conversations if I didn't know what was being discussed. I started adding my own perspective and having open-minded conversations. Being informed is now one of the skills I focus on now the most being a Strategic Communication major with a Social Media Marketing minor as it is crucial for my field of work I hope to enter one day. I was able to take this skill back with me to my home town and start having those conversations with friends and family. Even though my perspective may differ from my parents and or friends we have open and honest conversations. Staying educated is something I also learned to instill within my younger siblings, talking to them and communicating to them it is ok not to agree and discuss how you feel about the current state of an event. By doing this I now constantly talk about what is going on in the world on a daily basis, with friends and family staying informed and having those conversations I did not two years ago.
I stay informed on the new trends through the app Tik Tok. The trends nowadays are changing daily. Whether it is the next new hot product on the market, a new song, a dancing trend, or weird news Tik Tok provides. Just by mindlessly scrolling for hours a day I am staying informed of the trends as they come and go every 24 hours. Tik Tok is a platform that has blown up within the past 6 months and is the source for news and staying informed for most Millenials. Tik Tok continues to amaze me with what the creators decide to post. For an example of how I stay informed using the app is a crazy one. A woman jumped into the Hudson River in New York off of her boat and posted it. It instantly blew up as the Hudson is known for being very unclean and potentially infested with carcasses. As this blew up it made it onto several news sources around the country covering the story. Tik Tok was the source of this odd news, we the peopple of Tik Tok saw this video before it even hit the news. Having a platform that is updated and changing constantly provides information and news to me in ways I never thought it could.
On the I-Phone there is a new software update that was released that has helped me stay even more informed without even trying. The Apple news app has now become a widget on the home screen of your Apple device if you choose to organize it that way. Every time I open up my phone a new headline appears on the front face of the widget. The news stories all have to do with what is happening in the world and the country today. I have my phone in my hand 24/7, opening and closing my phone helps me stay informed. By clicking directly on the widget it will bring me to the whole news release reading more about what is going on. Apple adding this feature will hopefully increase the number of people that stay informed on events daily within our country. Helping to expand my knowledge and perspective is one of the reasons I love this new feature. Being accessible is key with me when staying informed.
Facebook believe it or not is another way I stay informed, along with many other people. Facebook is considered a more dated app among most people my age, yet I use it daily. I use the app for all my clubs and organizations I am apart of. Keeping me informed of events and tasks I have to do daily. I also stay informed through the posts and comments I see throughout the app. Whether it is a status update about someone's opinion or an article shared, I read it all. The comments and dialogue help me better understand the news and the different perspectives there are on the topic. I love reading comments on Facebook as they provide entertainment and knowledge depending on the topic being discussed. The app also keeps me informed of major events that happen throughout the week. Whether it is breaking news or the death of a famous person I see it everyday pop up on my feed. The app not only keeps me informed on current day events but with events happening with my family and friends I connected with on the app. I get notified of birthdays daily, which has saved me in many situations with friends and family. If my Facebook friends are in relationships, if there is a death and or if something fun is going on in their lives I see it all on Facebook. It is one of the most versatile and useful apps for me when staying in the loop of all daily events.
Lastly, one of my favorite ways of staying informed is listening to my Daily Drive on Spotify. I love music and adding news into the playlist helps me stay informed by doing one of my favorite activities. I don't commute to school yet I listen to this playlist curated throughout the day. It is a mixture of music and news curated by the app. The news stories are based on the past day to catch you up to date while listening. I think this is such an easy and smart way to stay informed without even trying. When playing it in the car it sparks conversations with me and the passengers about how they feel about the current events being discussed in the playlist. This feature makes being informed accessible and effortless. The playlist is curated to play recently listen to music-making the playlist clickable. This feature is one that goes unnoticed by most but I rely on it to be informed along with a conversation started among my friends and family.
In conclusion, there are so many easy ways to stay informed in today's world. Having conversations that could be uncomfortable help you learn and grow as a citizen. I believe now it is our duty as a society to stay informed and educated on the world that surrounds us. I didn't realize how many avenues there are to stay informed until I thought about how I get my information. I hope that you didn't know about at least one of these examples. Stay informed!
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