My online consumption varies from looking for news to using social media. Politics and women’s rights are the two issues that attract me. For me, I try to keep up with reproductive/abortion rights, but more statewide than nationwide because this specific issue differs based on the state. Such a difference also justifies recognizing how policies affect people’s lives more at the local level. I don’t actively follow the news back home in Sun Prairie, mainly because there’s no immediate relevance in my life since I don’t live there. I do know it has its own local paper, the Sun Prairie Star. While I see the importance of local news in terms of community participation, my focus is somewhere else now. Every so often, when I do decide to surf the news, the New York Post will come up for me. But again, for another style of news, my biggest source is probably Seventeen. Seventeen is not a news magazine in the traditional sense, but I find its news about pop culture and issues relevant to those around my age. Whenever I look for news or any information online, Google is my search engine of choice. I also occasionally use AI programs for brainstorming and generating ideas, but not specifically for news.
I tend to prefer reading text articles for news consumption. I feel that any form of written communication would delve deeper into various complicated issues, allowing me to process these affairs at my own pace. I must be able to reread and gather thoughts on the information to facilitate my understanding. I have rarely interacted with the content by leaving comments or reaching out to the reporters. I have just never been compelled to do so. Social media and news consumption relate, with the major player being Facebook, where friends sharing articles or news reports open my eyes to stories I would have missed. I have a network of friends and acquaintances channeling content of interest to me, while I absolutely recognize that news sourced via social media must be verified pretty rigorously. I am not active on X (formerly Twitter) or Bluesky but sometimes check X for information that might not be easily accessible on other platforms. I can see the main value in it for getting real-time updates and a range of opinions, even though I’m not an active user myself. I listen to podcasts more for pleasure than news; however, I have one podcast I particularly enjoy, “Suburb Talks,” where a group of friends talk about relationships and everything in between.
To establish my criteria for the reliability and accuracy of news, I consider source credibility essential. Therefore, I seek reputable news sources. I also look for signs of consistency. Though I did not personally come across instances where I felt a fake news story was actually true, I realize how easily misinformation spreads on the Internet. For the sake of such a reality, very deliberate thinking about consuming online news and using established and trustworthy sources becomes a must.