We Need to Think Twice About What News is Worth Our Time
Getting wrapped up in media such as TMZ, ENews, or EXTRA has been an ongoing issue worldwide since the internet started to become a stronger source of gossip rather than research. Besides TV channels, social media sites that are filled with influencers boasting about their “glamorous” lives is starting to create a fake perception of how we should live our lives.
The media is known for filtering topics on our screens that pique the interest of certain groups of people by sparking their emotions and appeals. For instance, the color red will instantly make you hungry, a picture of a puppy in a shelter will create a physical reaction in the form of tears, and models wearing expensive clothes will have us questioning our self-worth.
When browsing Instagram with friends, often times I’ll see an outfit that I think is cute, show my friend and that’s that. However, the next day I’ll be scrolling through my feed and notice advertisements for the shoes that I pointed out on the outfit I previously talked about. With advertisements right at my reach, it’s difficult to not buy into it, but it’s essentially all a mind game. Recently, I have noticed our social media is crawling with advertisements from those previously discussed or searched topics just to reel us in. All these things are ways to keep us wanting more, to keep looking “better” and to keep spending our time stuck on fitting in.
The human race is constantly stuck on trivial desires and selfish wants, and social media only makes this worse. In recent news Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson had a falling out when the best friend of Kylie Jenner, Jordyn Woods, was caught at a Hollywood party getting a little “too close” with Khloe’s now “ex” man. That topic is interesting for the sheer fact that it’s a scandal and is betrayal of a very powerful family. However, much more is going on in the world right now.
While the scandal was taking place, there was backlash on social media regarding the threat of climate change and the issue of deportation that the public has turned a blind eye to. It seems that people have turned their backs on caring for citizens whose families have been ripped away from them, or the fact that the president and government officials have not paid much attention to environmental problems that the world will be facing if we don’t take action now. Besides those pressing issues, there are other topics that the general public has not been concerned about, because we would rather focus on what doesn’t require much thought. This forced naïveté could simply come from a place of fear, or because people feel that they can’t change what is happening in the world. This is ignorant.
The public must be aware of issues that are going to be detrimental to our country and the world in general, rather than focusing on celebrity scandals, and other “popular” news just for gossip topics. If we want to thrive as a nation, we need to take care of our world and the people that live in it.
When the media wants us to key into a topic that doesn’t affect us directly such as celebrity scandals, the hottest trends, or even “selfie challenges,” ask yourself what is really important. Take a look back and understand that there is more to the news than celebrity scandals. Instead, try to open another tab to learn about what is happening locally, globally, and the ways that you can take action to help those in need. We all need to take a stand against only worrying about “hot” topics for a minimal amount of time. Before we know it, we’re going to be so wrapped up in meaningless information that we forget about what’s really worth tapping into.