By Kayla Johnston 
As a journalism student, I am engaged with news on a daily basis. I read it, watch it, have conversations about it and am even tested on it. But something I’ve realized along the way (mostly by living with roommates who turn to me as their only news source) is that not everyone engages with the news or even cares much about it.
If you are that person — maybe you want to get involved with the news but don’t know where to begin, or maybe you want nothing to do with it — here are some simple ways to begin the process of being a news consumer and why it matters.
I get most of my news from my phone and social media, which is the easiest option for college students who don’t have cable television or don’t listen to the radio on a daily basis.
Twitter is arguably one of the main sources of news amongst young people, as it is instant and (usually) accurate — full of eyewitnesses, photos and videos. Whether you are following major or local news organizations (I suggest the LA Times, Huffington Post, NBC, and CNN Breaking News accounts), the information will be instant, and if you are anything like me and check your twitter account constantly, you will be well-informed.
If you’re looking for something that you can check once a day and that will be more comprehensive than a 140-character tweet, download the Skimmin app on your iPhone or Android. Each day, Skimmin publishes 6-10 news stories that include just the basic, most essential information of the previous day. I like to check the app each morning or right before bed to get a short summary of the biggest stories of the day.
Not only will your engagement with the news make you appear cultured and intelligent in your conversations (who doesn’t want that?!), you will be able to gather the information and facts presented to you from a variety of new sources and create your own opinions after analyzing all of the information, rather than simply overhearing someone else’s conversation and their opinions about the news.
News matters! Without it, we wouldn’t have people standing up and advocating for change across the globe. Do yourself a favor and make news a priority.