There is nothing more intimidating than being asked about a topic, or in a conversation, where you have no idea what is going on. Especially when the topic revolves around politics or social issues. Even that second sentence may have made you cringe just thinking of it. Being college students, there is so much happening in our lives from roommate drama, to job searching, and don’t forget that research paper due tomorrow at midnight. It is difficult to see what’s on the other side of our college-life bubble and, frankly, there is a lot happening out there. But who has time to read the newspaper, or the schedule to catch the evening news every night? I know I don’t. However, there several ways to get informed on your own time, even during a hectic school week. Below are quick and easy ways to get informed on the daily from interesting and creditable sources:
Be a Daily Skimmer
Go to theskimm.com, type in your email address, and voilà! Every morning theSkimm will send you a short email containing everything you need to know what is happening in the world in case the conversation comes up. From politics, sports, and celebrity drama, theSkimm puts all of their information in layman’s terms for everyone to understand.
Subscribe to a morning podcast
While you are getting ready in the morning or walking to class listen to a quick podcast that lets you know what the heck is going outside this college bubble we live in. I recommend listening to The Daily by the New York Times or Up First from NPR. They record a new episode every morning and are no longer than fifteen minutes long. So, before you press play on Spotify, get informed from your podcasts! Also, you’ll sound pretty woke if you say “Well, on this podcast I listen to…” am I right?
Get news alerts sent right to your phone
If you are uninterested in getting emails or subscribing, the CNN and ABCNEWS apps are free and very easy to manage how many alerts you receive. This way you will only receive breaking news when it is actually happening sent right to your phone. There are many creditable news apps like these in the app store, check them out!
Follow news sources on Twitter
OK, this is the easiest way to get informed. We all have a Twitter and love seeing what Chrissy Teigen tweets, but next time you open the app follow @theatlantic, @slate, or @journalsentinel (local) for the most creditable and updated news.
See? It’s not too difficult to know what’s happening in the world. Hopefully these quick and effortless ways to get informed help you out next time you accidentally walk into a conversation about politics or current events, or maybe you’ll be the one striking up the conversation! Look at you being all woke!