The first person from whom I began to habitually receive news was Neil deGrasse Tyson. My childhood media consumption progressed in an atypical way due to strict parents and my peculiar tastes, and I grew up on a lot of Nova ScienceNow, hearing about developments in the realm of astrophysics long before I understood what any of it meant. My parents used to watch Good Morning America, which I’d sit in on if I’d gotten ready for school early; they still watch Sunday Morning each week. I would hear things from my ignorant school friends about politics and assume that, yes, Busch did “do” 9/11. When I finally got a phone, I spent hours in the Apple News app, checking boxes for my interests and reading article after article about things that I felt were important or somehow relevant, but eventually the News notifications stopped getting opened unless the headline mentioned Taylor Swift. 

In all the ways that matter, I am not a responsible, active consumer of news, which I believe is true of the majority of my generation, which is notoriously jaded and ADHD. Many people I know get their news from TikTok, and I used to do the same, but I stopped using the app years ago. I simply can’t find it in myself to care anymore—I have enough things to cry about without seeing photos of Palestinian children’s lifeless hands protruding from piles of rubble or floating islands of trash in the ocean that constitute more acreage than I’ll ever own in this economy. 

That said, these are my honest top five sources of news, albeit not the kind of news nor the volume that I’m sure this class would hope I consume:

Vogue (Instagram @voguemagazine, @voguefrance, @voguerunway, @britishvogue, @vogueitalia, @vogue korea) Fashion journalism is the only kind that I consume with any regularity, although Anna Wintour is admittedly slipping further into the capitalist quagmire and Vogue becomes increasingly concerned with things that are not fashion-related, ie. the Kardashians/Jenners and Elon Musk and his new wife.

Impact (Instagram @impact) These guys post about important things, I think, that are going on worldwide from an American standpoint. They’re liberal and feminist and environmentalist. This is really my only source of real-world reporting, which I am fully aware is irresponsible and riddled with confirmation bias.

 
Shit You Should Care About (Instagram @shityoushouldcareabout) They post very similar stuff to @impact, but they include pop culture, the stupidest audience polls you've ever seen, and way too much Harry Styles content. I don't know why I haven't unfollowed yet.

Betches Media (Instagram @betches) More of the same. Very feminist, less serious, lots of lame memes advertising white girl canned alcoholic beverages. Their viewpoint is a little outdated, in my opinion, and pretends to care more about feminist issues than I suspect it actually does. 

New York Times (nytimes.com) I literally only read NYT articles when I get distracted on my way to the Daily Crossword. I’ve probably read less than twenty in my lifetime, and they're usually related to political or legal movements in which I am interested or I feel pertain to me.