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Squeegee Beckenheim

SB - The Hunk (Since 2005)
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    In lieu of the shear amount of news stories that have been posted over the past couple days about days, I was curious about how many of us actually understand what is going on in the world. We have been discussing stories of death in odd ways over the past couple days, and I have been thinking, why don't we discuss what's actually happening in the world.

    We are a very uninformed generation. The amount of people who actually care about what is going on is dropping. Not just internationally, but nationally, and locally. Do we really comprehend what is going on in this time we are living in. I will admit stupidity when I went to college last year, and I had no idea how bad the Palestinian situation was. However, I did a study for one of my beginning history classes about how uninformed we are. It is amazing how many people in America don't know who their state governor is or even who the biggest named people in the political arena area. Of course, I can only speak as an American, but I want to hear a lot of opinions.

    Also, the news that we do hear is sprinkled with very biased views. Your takes on that? Is there a place that you think is less biased, if you are interested in news? Do you even think it is important for you to know what is going on? Are there news stories that you think people should know about, that we probably don't?
     
    I agree.
    A lot of people don't know what is going on in the world.

    A few years ago, I didn't care much for the news or what was going on, then my parents were talking about some world issues at dinner and I didn't know what they were on about. I can't remember exactly what it was about, but I remember being left out.

    I decided that I wanted to know what was going on and not to be left out. It might be a selfish though and action, but it works out well.
    Since I don't currently have a TV in my room at halls, I can't watch the news. However, I do log onto the BBC Website at least once ever two days to see what is going on in the world, as well as my England =]
     
    I tend to try and keep up to date with all major developments in the world. It gives me things to think about and it's fun to discuss topics like wars, politics, and terrorism, to name a few.

    I'm actually pretty disturbed by the size of the Sports section in every news paper, there's no way sports are as important as actual news. It's just a bunch of grown up people playing a game. I'd rather see some more in-depth articles in their place. Same with the focus on celebrities. Honestly, Britney Spears' newest drugs adventure is not interesting, don't waste my time with it.

    Something that disturbs me even more about western media is the habit to talk about uninteresting news whenever there are no major topics to be covered from within the western world, in the process totally ignoring Africa and south America, two continents who hardly see any coverage in any newspapers. It's all Europe and America, with Asia now a close third but even then only focusing on Russia and China in particular, + whatever problem area there may be at that particular time (North Korea anyone?) There are countless conflict zones in Africa which I have never seen covered even in quality newspapers. These are issues which us humans should in my opinion atleast know about.

    So yes, our media is biased in the sense that it finds western garbage more interesting than real news from places they feel us ordinary citizens won't care about.
     
    People today are indeed very uninformed. They do not know, and most likely they wouldn't understand what is going on in the world. A lot of people don't know what's going on with North Korea, Iran, Israel, and in our own home country. Knowing what is going on in the world around you is very important very very obvious reasons. There are multiple news stories that people should hear about as well. Such as any North Korea news because now it is threatening with nuclear war, the Iranian election, Israel's settlements, and things of that nature. Also, there was recently a showing of a new laser that can mimic to surface of the sun. It gives out more energy than it needs, anyone with a brain can understand how significant that will be if we can perfect it.
     
    Man this thread is so boring. I'mma go post a new one about how this one guy died by running a marathon and then choking on his victory gatorade.

    ........lol.

    I'll admit for years I never kept up with the news and found it wholly uninteresting. I kept up with the huge things everyone was talking about and that was about it. Now I make sure to at least keep up to date on things happening in Canada and the major news from around the world. :( I may not be wholly interested, so I don't know every detail, but I try to make sure I have the basics down so I'm not completely uninformed.

    I don't watch TV and I only listen to the radio sporadically so most of my news comes from the CBC, BBC, or CNN websites. I'm not a fan of discussing a lot of news myself, but I love reading others discuss it and getting all sorts of opinions.
     
    I keep my ear to the ground about Russian-American relations, North Korea, Israel, and (to a lesser extent) Iran. This is important crap, and it gets more important every day as the the US economy dies and far-righters are being listened to. As the generation that has to fix the world after the Stoned Age tye-dye clad Beatles-worshiping hippies screw it over with their remaining braincells, we turn away from any pertinant news, thereby screwing ourselves futher. Why are we caring so much about the clothes we're wearing or high school social? We need to worry about the world we're living in.
     
    dc_united said:
    Why are we caring so much about the clothes we're wearing or high school social? We need to worry about the world we're living in.
    Click to expand...

    I'll agree with that statement but frankly this is the society we are living in !
    I think more people should be interested in whats going on around us, the economy crisis,
    wars etc. But society these days are more interested in clothes, entertainment and sex.
     
    I am in no way saying that I read the newspaper/watch the news/etc. I am learning to make a habit of it after Obama was elected and sworn in. I wanted to hear what he was doing to change the country. However, the stresses of college overwhelmed me, and I couldn't do it as much.

    Now, one thing I think that really interests me is our fascination with blood and gore. Politics don't interest us. Do you think that is true? A story about a boy getting a branch in his throat which will have no effect on you, interests you more than a story about President Obama's economic bailouts.
     
    I read the news everyday and I still feel uninformed half the time.
    Squeegee Beckenheim said:
    Now, one thing I think that really interests me is our fascination with blood and gore.
    Click to expand...

    If it bleeds, it leads.
    Deputy said:
    There are countless conflict zones in Africa which I have never seen covered even in quality newspapers.
    Click to expand...

    Case in point. If we ever do hear about Africa it's always "conflict" this an "violence" that. I'd bet that very few of us could name more than two or three countries in Africa.

    Staying informed is hard work. You have to sift through the irrelevant, the garbage and the downright nonsense.
     
    I'm going to pretty much repeat what's already been said: I think one of the problems is the sometimes blatant bias in the media. Networks tend to air the stories that they think are going to be of most interest to their viewers rather than what is of most importance. A lot of the time they only give one side of the story as well, like Fox or CNBC. But that's just another one of the problems of capitalism, amiright?

    If you really want to be informed, I guess you should try to get news from as many different sources as possible, and do your best to get it from as reliable a source as possible, rather than a through reporter. And frankly, a lot of the important news is rather boring. PBS, while a lot of people claim it to have the least biased news programing, is full of talking heads and is not very entertaining.

    I'll admit to being stereotypically less informed than I should be, but I think I do better than most my age.
     
    Same here.

    I take great interest in political situations, and I like trying to teach people more about what's happening, but I never really actively search for news. I just know what's going on when I hear stuff on CNN/Internet articles/radio/etc. Still, I have some friends who look for a lot, and are hyper-paranoid about things like what's happening in the Mideast right now. :/

    And I agree, nigh-all media is biased, whether for good, bad, or for lulz.
     
    What are you guys talking about? Obama killing a fly with this bare hands is as most informed as I'll ever get.

    But will all non-seriousness aside, I used to be like that: not caring, because I didn't think it was important to be informed of the news. Still, if it doesn't interest you, there's no way you're going to grasp any of your attention to it. I once thought of keeping up with the news was like knowing algebra: why is it important to know and how will it benefit me later on in life in the real world? The only reason I started tuning into local, national, and world updates because every time someone would turn and say to me, "Hey, have you heard about... " and I would always have to reply with a shameful "No." I now have CNN.com as my home page; I watch the morning news before heading off to work and the afternoon one as well. I even read the newspaper whenever I have the chance, and it's not because I want to anymore; I like to now.

    I think our generation somewhat refuses to get to know what's going on in the world. I remember some of my old classmates saying that they don't care about world news because they believe it didn't matter to them and doesn't affect their lifestyle in anyway. I wanted to say something as a rebuttal to them, but I couldn't. I couldn't explain why knowing other news was important, I just knew its a smart thing to do.

    dc_united said:
    Why are we caring so much about the clothes we're wearing or high school social?
    Click to expand...

    That would be called having a social life. It usually doesn't last after high school.
     
    I tend to go to Wikipedia and Yahoo! for my news since the moment my parents get the newspaper they just throw it away.

    I still feel less informed, but I think I cover the 'major' events on what it happening in the world. Like North Korea.
    Scarf said:
    I read the news everyday and I still feel uninformed half the time.


    If it bleeds, it leads.


    Case in point. If we ever do hear about Africa it's always "conflict" this an "violence" that. I'd bet that very few of us could name more than two or three countries in Africa.

    Staying informed is hard work. You have to sift through the irrelevant, the garbage and the downright nonsense.
    Click to expand...
    South Africa, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo.
     
    I have always been a weird guy, I got insterested in politics a lot of years ago while reading a comic magazine, with lots of political comic strips, and started watching the news reports everyday. Since I started studying journalism I try to read (and I mean read, not just look at the headlines and the three interesting news) a newspaper every day.

    And what shocked and saddened me was discovering that I was the only one who passed a "Current events" exam, where we got asked about things ranging from the name of some ministers to the host for last year's Oscar ceremony. Not even the people who will work giving information to the world care about it nowadays.
     
    Went said:
    I have always been a weird guy, I got insterested in politics a lot of years ago while reading a comic magazine, with lots of political comic strips, and started watching the news reports everyday. Since I started studying journalism I try to read (and I mean read, not just look at the headlines and the three interesting news) a newspaper every day.

    And what shocked and saddened me was discovering that I was the only one who passed a "Current events" exam, where we got asked about things ranging from the name of some ministers to the host for last year's Oscar ceremony. Not even the people who will work giving information to the world care about it nowadays.
    Click to expand...

    I wish I could make myself read a newspaper a day, I want to know more current events.
     
    Regarding the newspaper, I am lucky to have the Times newspaper, pretty much on my doorstep for 30p.
    Student offers XD

    Also, there is the metro for free here. It might not be the most informative and politically correct newspaper out, but it lets you know about some things that are going on in the world. I normally just grab the Times.
     
    Since the dawn of computers —and the Internet— as well as television, people have become more content to sit in their homes and fester. Nobody talks anymore, nobody knows each other anymore. Ask anyone old enough and they'll tell you the '50s were a happier time.

    It's probably the greatest irony of our time, that the Age of Information should in fact render people increasingly ignorant, gullible, petty and selfish.
     
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    In the 50's, Radios were thought to have near all the negative effects as TV and the computer (complete with people as addicted to their electronics as we are to ours), and in 2050-70 or so, I bet we'll all be saying the exact same thing. Times change. :/ But that's off topic.
     
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