Staying informed in an Increasingly Uninformed World
By Mary Kaitlin Enright
Nowadays it can feel like we are swimming in a big, old sea of information. Information about our family, our friends, people who we don’t even know, people that live next door, people that live across the country, people that live across the world—we know information about them all. You can find information about politicians, celebrities, businesspeople, students, and on and on, just about anywhere on the internet, social media, and more.
As a result, we can feel overexposed, burnt out, and sick of all of the information flow. (I’ve deleted Instagram and Snapchat a fair number of times, too.) There’s so much, too much, to learn, right? Well, not necessarily.
Because we are constantly exposed to so much information, it is easy to think that we have all of the information that we need and that we don’t need to educate ourselves further. But, that often leaves many of us (I’m guilty too!) unaware and uninformed of issues going on in our world—and there’s a whole gamut of them!
So, the onus falls on us as individuals to put in the effort to inform ourselves amongst our uninformed world. That might seem like a daunting responsibility and a lot of work, but believe it or not, it’s actually something that you can build right into your routine. Think about where you receive information, or what you spend your downtime doing:
Do you watch the news? Prefer Netflix? Scroll through Instagram? Click through threads on Reddit? Google what you’re looking for? Read books? Prefer online articles?
All of those ways of receiving information can turn into a medium by which you learn about social justice, humanitarian, political, and more issues or crises that are plaguing countries and lives across the world. Here are some strategies that you can employ to inform yourself without adding much of a dent to your daily routine:
1. Follow unbiased news sources on your social media, accounts dedicated to information sharing, or organizations that share information about specific causes/issues.
Author’s recommendations:
News sources: The Intercept (@theintercept), Good Good Good (@goodgoodgoodco), Axios (@axios), The Factual (@thefactualnews), and so many more!
Information sharing accounts: So You Want To Talk About… (@soyouwanttotalkabout). We’re Leaving Early (@wereleavingearly), If You Ever Forget (@ifyoueverforget), Simplified (@nowsimplified), and so many more!
Organizations: International Rescue Committee (@rescueorg, world humanitarian crises), Color of Change (@colorofchange, Black Lives Matter), Future Earth (@futureearth, environmental justice), Ally Coalition (@allycoalition, LGBTQ+ rights), Equal Justice Initiative (eji_org, inequality justice issues) and so many more!
2. Read books that are relevant to current issues and will make you think.
What I’m reading right now:
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (but any of his books are real thought-jerkers!)
So You Want To Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo
Prison Letters, by Nelson Mandela
I also love Becoming by Michelle Obama
There are also a ton of lists out there of great books to read to learn about issues--just give it a Google search! For example, here’s Bill Gates' recommendation list of books to read about and among the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Swap out a movie for a documentary on movie night.
Ideas for what to watch:
Disclosure (on transgender representation in media and entertainment)
Immigration Nation (on immigration issues in the U.S.)
The 13th (on incarceration and prison treatment of black men in the U.S.)
Feminists: What Were They Thinking (on feminist activism)
Reversing Roe (on abortion rights in the U.S.)
RBG (on a profile spotlight of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Here’s a whole list of the best documentaries on Netflix right now.
4. Watch YouTube videos
Channels to subscribe to:
Stay Informed
CrashCourse
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
The Hill
...and the more you watch, the more similar videos will come up on your recommended page! It’s a double whammy.
5. Listen to a podcast instead of music
Podcasts worth a listen:
JRE Podcast (Joe Roegan interviews various key members of society)
The Hilarious World of Depression (on mental health de-stigmatization)
Outlandish (on environmental justice)
Social Matters Podcast (on a whole span of social justice issues)
Code Switch by NPR (on modern race and culture issues)
There’s so many more out there. Here are a couple of lists of podcasts that inform and inspire on social justice issues and will make you a better human.
6. Or find your own, unique way!
There are so many mediums by which you can receive information. Find the one that makes it easiest or most enjoyable for you, and integrate it into your routine. And just like that, informing yourself is 10x easier than it seems.
Okay, I’m done throwing a million resources at you now. But, the point is: it is so crucial to make sure that you know what is going on in this big, complex world of ours. No matter how you choose to do it, informing yourself is key to that responsibility, so that you can form your own unique opinions and cares for causes, and then inform others with your brand new head of knowledge. Talk about knowledge as power!
Looking for somewhere to get started?
Inform yourself on international humanitarian crises right here at Be Well Nova through my other articles:
or just inform yourself just in general in our Be Well Nova Op Ed category!
Now, get out there and get informed! We’re all in this together.
