Blog Post #1

 My Top 5 Sources of News:

#1 Instagram

As I'm sure you're already well aware, Instagram is a very popular social media platform owned by Meta. There are many pages on this platform that post news related pictures and videos. For younger generations, this is one of the first places that news is viewed. It's very convenient as news articles can pop up on your screen right after any number of entertaining videos. In short, we would've been scrolling anyway. In addition to simply hearing the news, Instagram allows us to hear prominent influencer's opinions on the topic. I believe this is an overall net positive, as it makes contemporary events more engaging to younger audiences.

#2 Youtube

Whatever Instagram offers in the form of influencer opinion, Youtube doubles or even triples that. Many creators post long-form content discussing events that otherwise would only be discussed on news channels. This allows viewers to hear a variety of nuanced takes from people from all parts of the political spectrum. This causes me to believe that Youtube is also a great source of news and an a very viable way to understand modern issues. Like all other forms of technology however, Youtube is a tool. You have the option to hear exactly what you would like. It's up to the individual user to make sure they hear arguments from both sides instead of turning their algorithm into an echo chamber.

#3 Google News

In my experience, Google News is the closest that people my age will get to willingly watching or reading the news. Of all news sources, it's the easiest to access. When you search recent events, articles from google news will be the first thing that you see. This search engine compiles both conservative and liberal sources in order to give you the most bi-partisan information possible. This is very useful as it allows you to learn about recent world events with just the click of a few buttons. Whether or not I get far past the headlines or not... well that's a different story. 

#4 Twitter/X

Yes, this app is useful for something other than funny quotes from your favorite artist. Similarly to Instagram, Twitter is home to a multitude of different news channels that update their followers on breaking news. In addition to these news channels, we have the unprecedented ability to see the thoughts of political figures in real time as they tweet out to mass audiences. This has had some never before seen consequences, both good and bad. Like other platforms, you can find the opinions of both sides of the political spectrum. At the same time however, this sometimes leads to hateful discourse between those with differing political views. 

#5 Snapchat

While I wouldn't say I get my news from this platform in the more traditional sense, it is still useful in a variety of ways. The biggest component of this app that I would like to highlight is its 'stories' feature. Stories are posts made by users in which they update their friends on what's going on in their lives and the things that are important to them. It was the first social media platform to include this feature. I think it is very important because, while it may not be the first place you get your news, it allows you to see people you know discussing topics in a way you may not have thought of before. This has its pros and cons but ultimately, it allows the people you know to see where you stand and your thoughts about current events.