By Jessica Fong
Growing up, I learned that it is important to be knowledgeable and aware of the world around me. At the beginning of 2017, I made a new year’s resolution to do just that. When deciding how to do this, I wondered, “Where am I supposed to find this information?”I soon came up with 5 to 6 credible and non-credible sources. These are all sources I will continue to use in the future after I graduate.
I get my information first from the The Daily Skimm. My friend saw my list of resolutions in my planner and suggested this to me as an easy way to get information every morning. The Daily Skimm sends news by email. I can wake up and instead of checking social media right away, I can easily read the news on my phone. I usually use my phone as a means of waking myself up because I can scroll through posts or articles. The second way I get information is through the news app on my phone. I tailored the app to show me current articles from platforms like CNN, Business Insider, The New York Times, The Food Network, and my guilty pleasure, People. While I don’t read articles from all these magazines or newspapers every day, it is helpful to have options and see top stories from the day right on my phone.
Now I realize that as a college sophomore, it sounds like I have a lot of very professional, political platforms that I follow. Don’t worry, I use Facebook and Twitter too. While these may not be very reliable sources, they are often quick and easy ways for me to hear about something happening. As a student at a college that values diversity, I have found that it is important to be knowledgeable about the opinions of the people around me as well. This is how I found out that “that one kid” from my high school had strong political views that, while I may not agree with them myself, I found interesting to learn his perspective during the election. With platforms like Facebook and Twitter, you must take everything with a grain of salt, and filter what you think may be true or false news.
Lastly, I get information, on topics and problems we face every day, by watching TED talks as well as Lynda.com classes. While I try to watch at least one every day, this can be challenging at times. I watch videos about self-actualization, how to network, how to manage stress, and how technology is advancing. I tend to do this later in the day, maybe before I go to bed, or if I need a break from homework and studying. It is a helpful way to destress yet still increase my knowledge on the world around me.
Now that you know how I get my information feed, I want to know how you get yours!