The Common Student: Facebook & Word-of-Mouth?

It was surprising to go through and read all of my classmates' posts about where they get their news. For the most part, the majority of my peers happen to come across most of their news digitally. This was the most common way of getting news, though it was not the only way. A few people mentioned having news applications on their mobile phones. Others mentioned listening to the radio while driving, but not all of us have cars here on campus, so the prevalence of hearing news through the radio sort of dwindled because of that. More than one classmate mentioned receiving news through the "word-of-mouth" method or hearing it from someone else (who probably heard it from someone else who heard it from someone else). Reading these posts, it became increasingly obvious to me how much we live in an "entertainment age. One classmate mentioned how a lot of us use informal sources and how the news itself is presented in a way that is considered a "tabloid style." It's meant to catch your eye, capture a sliver of your attention. 

It was almost comforting to me to read that I'm not the only one who really only started reading the New York Times regularly because it was a class requirement. I don't have anything against the news, I'm just not the type to seek it out on a regular basis. I just happen to stumble across it, which several other classmates mentioned as well. It was also cool to read how others do spend their time going to news websites and actually read the print paper before coming to college here. 

Does this mean that we are lacking in civic literacy? I don’t think we are. I do think that the definition of civic literacy has changed because of the influence of the internet on news. We often only see the big picture such as breaking news over the little picture or local news. Some people agree with Hedges and may feel that literacy is falling and disappearing. We do not read print-based news as often, but rather we find most or all of our news via the web.  Nicholas Carr may have a few things to say on this topic as well. We are in an age of “skimming activity.” We often just skim through news articles until we find something that is interesting enough to continue reading. I think that many students do not make enough of an effort to keep up with the news, whether it is international or local. The majority of us wait for the news to come to us rather than seeking out the news ourselves. Does that make is illiterate? I guess that depends on how you see it.

Staying Updated.

Where do you usually get your news? How do you know what is going on? 

It's strange to think about where I get my news, because I'm not someone who normally makes much of a conscious effort to read the newspaper or listen to the radio. But, somehow, I end up knowing and staying up to date with what's going on around in the massive world around me. 

One of my biggest sources of news would probably be people. Whether it's simple gossip between a friend group or whether it's discussing breaking news, people like to talk. They just do. There are always those individuals who come up to you and ask, "hey, did you hear what happened? So and so did this in this place and this other cool thing happened!"... etc etc.  I would say that's how I get all of the bigger news stories that everyone hears. We are living in an age where news travels at a crazy fast pace. 

I remember the morning of the Aurora shooting. I was asleep when it actually happened, so I didn't know anything until that morning when I woke up. So many people had heard the news before me. My aunt, who lives in NJ and therefore is two hours ahead of Colorado, called in the morning asking if we were safe. Naturally, I was like, "wait, what happened in Aurora?" I simply Google'd "Aurora Shooting" and opened up Facebook and BAM!, news and comments were everywhere. From Google, various news articles popped up, and on Facebook, half of my 'friends' posted statuses such as "Is everyone okay?" and "Pray for Aurora." I had received multiple messages from my friends out of state asking me if I was okay because they knew I lived in the area. I got texts from my friends checking to see if I was safe and was not in that theater at that time. Within the span of the next few weeks, I heard about friends of friends or family friends of friends who were injured at the shooting, who had almost gone to the theater but had decided against it. 

Even in blogging, I see the news. I often go on Tumblr and come across posts discussing topics and news that I have not yet heard about, whether it is national or international. Don't underestimate the power and presence of social media. I found out from Facebook when South Korea elected its first female president in December. This is probably a bit sad, but it's usually where I first come across news stories. People post articles, statuses, or comments on the latest news, and if someone mentions news I haven't heard about, I look it up. On many website homepages, news is displayed. Sometimes, I go on news websites and see what's going on, but for the most part, I get my news from other people who saw it or from people who got it from other people. Unless I am following a specific story, I don't regularly go to news sites or newspapers to browse current events and such, but that's just me. Maybe after reading the New York Times regularly, I'll turn into a news junkie. Probably not, but there is a heck of a lot of crazy news in our world.