As someone who is overly obsessed with the news and current culture I have to ask, has anyone read the news lately? Everyday since august of last year the concept of a “slow news day” has been erased and replaced with a major influx of headlines. From protests in Minneapolis, the Russia and Ukraine war, tariffs, and so much more.  But while I find it overwhelming, I have to remember that no one close to me reads the news. I don’t have friends who find enjoyment in being informed the way I do. But as I sit online watching video after video, reading article after article about what’s going on, I find that I need to do more than reading.  There’s obvious things I can do, emailing my representatives and officials or going online to start conversations. If you’ve ever wondered, “how can I stay informed?” or “How can I make sure my voice makes an impact?” It’s a lot more simple than you think. 

Staying informed is easier than you think, because of this great thing called your phone. Social media has made itself its own breeding ground for so many kinds of journalism. The amount of people who go online to just post clipnotes versions of articles using multiple sources to give the most accurate information is astounding. While sure, using this as a primary can get you mixed up into a good amount of frenzied mess, (take the martial law threat at the beginning of 2025) but it still works great if you don’t know how to start.

 But the most tried and true way to make sure you know the accuracy of the information you are taking in is as accurate as possible is using the news. Reading or watching the news does greatly affect your ability to stay on top of everything going on. Finding a couple sources that give you what you want, and keep you intrigued is key. While I don’t advocate for bias, I’m more than aware that it’s everywhere to the point of no return. But when reading, read both extremes. Read a more left leaning source (CNN, The Guardian, etc) and a more right leaning source (Fox News, The Federalist, etc.) to get the whole scope of the story to build your own bias. 

But if you want to add to the conversation, using one of the one million public forums is a great way to do so. Making a one minute video on TikTok, or using Instagram to make a slide show of information is a great way to get new ideas out there. Even starting in the comments of posts online to get ideas of conversations and the general consensus that revolves around them is great. But always making sure that you are respectful is crucial to having a productive conversation with anyone, especially on public forums. You can’t go online with a crazy take and expect zero criticism or questions, you also can’t find a crazy take and expect everyone to start shaming that person. They’re called public for a reason. 

All I talk about (other than the news) is my intentions of building constituencies. We all have people in the government to represent us and we all should make sure they know who exactly they are representing. I have emailed my local representatives a couple of times on my concerns, but I’ve also made sure that I have brought attention to others around me to make sure they know how to do the same. It’s easier than you would think, all you have to do is:

• Go on google and look up who your representatives are (congress, state government, etc)
• Find their website and look for any kind of contact tab to find their email or office phone number
• Leave a message about your concern 

Most of the time you can either opt in or out of a response to your concern. Don’t think you can just say anything though, make sure you say stuff that would matter seeing as they could have people who read or listen to what you say before them. The people in these positions should care about what you have to say seeing as they went out of their way to get a job to represent people. 

But what are current concerns in the world as we speak? There are so many, how do I start? One big thing that keeps progressing are the multitudes of things going on with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With the uptick of ICE agents popping up all over the states right now. Headline after headline is about yet another person getting deported. Another big thing was the arrest of the president of Venezuela. While the news has already killed the story with new information, it was such a huge thing where you couldn’t walk two steps without hearing about it (it also made for an amazing cover for The New Yorker). And the influx of weather storms that tend to come around this time of year. It is impossible to not be flooded with headlines daily.  

Will it ever slow down? Will we ever compete with the week before the inauguration on such a slow news week? If you ask me, no. But the important thing is that we are aware of that. With media trends of taking apart every breath taken by anyone of any importance, you will find more and more headlines by the day. But only a crazy person would read almost every headline that pops up on their screen… Being a crazy person has its perks. Being able to start and add to conversations on every front is how you make sure your voice matters. Reading is a super power given to many and used by the few. What matters is how you use it.