Sunday, September 10, 2023

My Most Used Sources For Information

    Sourcing information is something that has become much more relevant and important over the past decade. With the invention of smartphones, the internet, and now AI, information can be spread at lightning speed. While that can be a great resource, it also has made it easier than ever to share false information to a massive amount of people. The importance of understanding the kind of sources you take information from only becomes more crucial as we continue down a path of technological growth.

    One of my main sources of information that I rely on is the Washington Post. I subscribe to their mobile newsletters to try to stay updated on the most relevant stories. I would say that this source is one I use mainly for information on politics as they seem to have a fairly neutral position on political events. I have found that my favorite feature they offer is the "Daily 7" which highlights the top 7 stories that are the most relevant of the day. Whether lifestyle, sports, or politics, they summarize the important information of current events to help brief you on what's going on in the world. It's helpful to be able to briefly catch up on news and stay informed on major events. They also include access to the full stories within the "Daily 7" so that if any of the articles catch your eye, it's easy to dive deeper into the full story. 

    Another source that I receive information from is CNN. The CNN Instagram posts headlines of all their top news articles and following their account is an easy way to come across news daily. Seeing the overviews of the most relevant stories that they are reporting on is convenient because when I don't find the time to watch the news or log into my Washington Post account, there can be current events that are reported on that I miss. Seeing them regularly in my feed when scrolling on social media allows me to stay briefed on the top stories and more pressing events. The CNN news channel is occasionally on at my family's house, but I would say that I pay more attention to the articles posted onto their other forms of social media simply out of convenience's sake. 

    When I'm looking to find more information centered on entertainment and pop culture, I tend to look to E! News. I enjoy staying up to date with the latest in the entertainment world. Whether celebrity couples, fashion, or drama, I want to hear about all of it. E! News does a great job at highlighting trending stories and keeping their social media platforms up to date. Sometimes they have a tendency to overdo it. I believe I saw them post 5 separate Instagram articles about Joe Jonas' divorce, which didn't seem all that necessary. Either way, I'd rather have too much coverage than not enough. Their website is also very easy to navigate. They keep the top 5 trending stories at the top of their website where it would be easy to access the full articles. They also separate their stories into categories and genres so it is easy to find similar articles if you stumble across one that you like. They are also fairly reliable in terms of reporting false information. Most of the stories they put out have some form of verification. 

    One source that I receive information from less frequently is Fox News. My grandparents keep Fox News on all the time at their house so I find that I take in more of their content that I would necessarily say I'd like to. Regardless of how the information is consumed, I see their broadcasts and news they report on semi-regularly. I find that I use this source more for the purpose of hearing about a breaking news story or a development in politics and then I take that superficial knowledge and find other sources and reports on that information to form a whole opinion about the situation. When my grandparents have the T.V. on and I hear something interesting that I hadn't seen or heard before, it intrigues me to keep looking for more information in other places. I wouldn't say that this is my go-to source when looking to find out more on politics but the portion of information I do take in from their news outlet likely plays a small role in my formation of opinions and overall knowledge of current events. 

    My final source of information, an probably the most frequently used, is the information shared by family and friends. I find that thought provoking conversation has been one of the best ways to challenge my opinions. Having friends who are like minded is nice because you probably care a similar amount about similar current events and can use one another to stay in the loop. On the other hand, having friend who share opposing views is just as (if not more) beneficial. The ability to have civil discussion about issues going on in our works with multiple perspectives allows for the opportunity for growth and understanding. Even if these discussions don't shift either of your opinions, I appreciate that people with differing worldviews who share different sources of information can come together and try to inform one another about their own perspective.



    


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