Let’s face it- there’s a lot happening in the world. From impeachment hearings in the United States to protests in Latin America, our brains are overloaded every week with more and more news. It can be overwhelming, yes, but there’s even more that we often don’t see going on.
A lot of this lies in how we consume our news. This is only something that I began thinking about recently. Just think about some of the biggest names in news around the world; CNN, BBC, the New York Times. All of these networks and newspapers have their own biases that impact what they present to readers and viewers. I’ll take a look at CNN as an example. My parents have CNN on almost constantly in our house. Turn it on at any time of the day and you’re bound to find news anchors talking all things Trump. While it’s important to know what’s happening with events like the impeachment hearings in the U.S., you’re not hearing about anything else but Trump and his stupidity (pardon my political opinion). What about protests happening in Bolivia? Or the fact that 100 protestors have been killed in Iran’s Internet Blackout? There are some important issues in the U.S. that aren’t being addressed on these networks because of their constant Trump coverage. Stories like the Dakota Access Pipeline leaking went completely undiscussed by these major news sources to my knowledge.
News outlets have their own agendas in many cases, and they will show the stories that fit the image they are looking to portray. In some cases, they can go as far as publishing stories that are untrue or based on very limited evidence. With this idea of “fake news” spreading around the world, it’s time we discuss how to diversify the news we consume. We can’t just be consuming news from the same source all the time. We’re only getting one side of the story, the side that they want us to see. In the end, it’s up to us to form an opinion about what’s going on around the world. We live in a world with easy access to information through the Internet, why don’t we take advantage of this opportunity more often?
This thought came to me recently when a friend and I were discussing the protests in Bolivia. I had my own idea of what was happening, but she told me some interesting details that gave me a new perspective on the situation. These are things I would have never known by just reading my New York Times email alerts. This idea sent me on a mission to think about my news sources more and notice just how little of the story they offer.
I’m not saying not to consume your news from these sources, or that news institutions are wrong. If anything, their work is becoming more important in our current climate. However, we need to start choosing other news sources to look at if we want to see the bigger picture. Start by following one or two new media outlets on your social media- I find some social media pages are offering more diverse stories than bigger news institutions right now. If your hear a headline about something that sounds interesting, do some research into what’s happening. What’s the context? What is the world doing about it? Who is being impacted? I also find watching documentary films and television shows can be good ways to inform yourself, especially since the film or episodes are focused on certain issues. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj on Netflix is a personal favourite of mine. Finally, have conversations with your friends about what’s happening in the world. They may have a new perspective or story to offer to you. Our news seems pretty scary, but a study by the University of Maryland shows that diversifying your news sources can actually lower anxiety levels. By going beyond what we hear from our main news sources, we can have a more broad understanding of our world.