THE MORE we read, the more we know, the more we engage. And yes, I’m referring to the generational cohort society has branded as “narcissistic.”
Sure, millennials like myself have a habit of spending most of our time in social media. But this doesn’t mean we’re not doing anything relevant at all. As what a friend said, we only “use the existing platforms to our advantage.”
And by “using it to our advantage,” we mean to “contribute to meaningful societal discourse.”
In the age of digitization, almost everything is accessible, including breaking stories from all around the world. People now have the luxury of getting updates on the latest news, may it be local or international.
Contrary to the notion that gave us the label “me, me, me generation,” we actually give a damn about things that are happening around us. We actually care. In fact, we sometimes show this in ways our older folks find offensive.
Nevertheless, we take pride from this “call-out culture” we brought to life. This is our way of holding something or someone, especially the government, accountable. But before this, we must first make ourselves well-informed. This is where reading the news enters.
News stories give us up-to-date information – the same information we use to make sound arguments as we fight our way to political correctness in the virtual universe.
The 21-year-old Cebuana Christine Otadoy, who studies marketing in Iloilo City, says she reads news through online platforms like Facebook and Twitter. She also reads news on websites through her mobile phone.
“It’s very convenient for me to access different news from different countries, regions and cities,” Otadoy says. “I read news at reputable sources so that I can refrain from misleading information. I also compare and contrast news articles from different news portals to extract what is true and what is not.”
For Otadoy, reading the news is vital because it allows her “to know what is happening and be able to come up with informed decisions” she uses “to contribute to meaningful societal discourse.”
The same is true for Keith Vincent Jablo, 21, a psychology student at the University of the Philippines-Visayas. Jablo, a resident of Pototan, Iloilo, also reads news online. He believes that “every citizen has the responsibility to know the happenings around them.”
“Legitimate news sources stand as platforms to develop an open and critical mind. In the rise of fake news, legitimate news sources help in distinguishing truth from falsehoods,” says Jablo.
The legitimacy of news is also very crucial to the 20-year-old Fran Marie Molejona, a member of the socio-civic organization UPV KAAKBAY.
“I mostly rely on verified news sources on Twitter. Facebook comes second. I read news online on a daily basis, but sometimes it’s more of mindless scrolling than actual reading,” shares Molejona.
She continues, “I developed the desire to be informed about current events and social media has made it very easy for me despite my busy schedule.”
Molejona also believes that people “shouldn’t discredit the effort that our journalists put into their work just because of some incompetent ‘bloggers’ who peddle fake news for their self-interest.”
“If anything, we should support and demand honest and transparent journalism at all times and do our part by pointing out erroneous reporting if we can, and we can only do so if we educate ourselves and use all means available in the pursuit of truth,” she stresses.
While Molejona chooses Twitter over Facebook, the 18-year-old You Kyong “YK” Song, a Korean senior high school student at Ateneo de Iloilo, opts to consume information through mobile news apps like CNN.
“I read every time I come across news I find relevant, which is at least twice or thrice a week. Reading headlines, however, daily,” Song says. “People have to read news to be updated with reliable information [for them] to stay relevant and knowledgeable with what is happening.”
Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Edward, who spoke on the condition that he will not be identified with his real name, has a slightly different habit of being in the know.
While he also reads news through mobile apps like Inquirer, Rappler, The Economist, and The Guardian, he prefers to watch news through online channels.
“At night, I don’t do any reading because I watch news shows online and listen to them as I work,” Edward says. “Honestly ‘reading’ the news is my secondary source of information. [I get] news on YouTube because I can just listen. I don’t read the paper at all.”
Edward suggests that “people should take everything with a grain of salt.” He believes that reading news from more than one source will make the reader more critical.
“We should always keep ourselves posted for updates or revisions to stories. There is no other way for us to be informed unless we use the existing platforms to our advantage,” he says.
Some millennials still prefer some of the traditional news mediums, though. The 21-year-old Shaira Kay Gonzaga is one of them.
Gonzaga, a training specialist at the Department of Social Welfare and Development, still watches television for news updates.
“Almost every day, when I wake up, I turn on the TV and go to GMA News. When I get home, I go to other news channels,” shares Gonzaga.
She also uses social media platforms Facebook and Twitter to read news, and verifies them through Google.
“Even if bogus reporting is rampant, reading news will pique our interest on what’s going on in the society, which in return will urge us to call for action. We just have to be careful in distinguishing what’s bogus and what’s not,” Gonzaga adds./PN
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This article was first published in print on April 6, 2018.
