How to Consume News
My 20-year-old son recently asked me how we consumed news in the 80s. The question gave me pause—I hadn’t really stopped to consider how much things have changed. For those too young to remember, there were three TV networks that delivered news, with male anchors and scheduled times. We had newspapers on national, statewide and local levels, delivered regularly (local papers were delivered by me to my neighbors for years). And we had news magazines like Time, Newsweek, National Geographic, etc. Some of those might have made their way into our homes or we could read them at the library or in the doctor’s waiting room. Simpler times.
These days, fake news, biased news, filter bubbles and echo chambers all prevent the dissemination of real news. My smart millennial son’s follow-up question was, “How should we be consuming news now?” Answering this question may be different for each person, but here are some ideas to help us move toward an answer.
Question the way you consume news. If you’re looking at news online, it is unlikely you are consuming fair or unbiased news in this day and age.
Avoid consuming news on social media platforms. When you click on that emotional headline, the algorithms send more just like it your way. Suddenly, the only thing in your feed validates your emotional thinking, creating an imbalance. Remove yourself from the echo chamber by avoiding .
Consider using an app that’s designed to help you burst your filter bubble.
Seek out trusted sources from the other side. Don’t just read and watch things that validate current thinking. This will create your own echo chamber. Broaden your thinking as you consume news. Ask friends for sites they visit. More importantly, ask thought leaders and smart people in your life where they go to consume news and check out those sources.
Set up a system for finding news. Exploring sites, and finding trusted news sources, takes time. Create a system that allows you to find news faster. Bookmark sites as you go.
Set aside time to consume news. Now that you have sites to visit and articles set aside to read, consume in a more formal way. Set a time of day or set a timer for consumption to keep yourself from heading down a rabbit hole. Reading, watching and consuming on your time, within your own parameters helps remove the emotion of the moment.
Revisit and revise your system (#5) regularly. As we change our media consumption, the platforms will adapt to our changing behaviors. Every few months take time to search for new sites. Any time you are feeling too comfortable with your system, you should question it. This sends you back to #1 and you begin the process again.
Consuming quality news is important in order to be a part of the healthy political conversation. Being a smart consumer of news takes far more time than it used to. But taking the time to find the good sources and smart content creators will help you think smarter, find more balance and be kinder in your political conversation.