Reading My Classmates' Blogs

Wow. I am amazed at the similarities I found when reading the blogs of my classmates regarding where they get their news. Many people said that before college they mostly got their news from the TV and an actual, physical newspaper. They mentioned how they would read the newspaper at breakfast. A lot of times my classmates said that their parents kept them updated on the world’s recent events. Being at college has changed things a bit for the majority of my classmates. For example, a heavy reliance on Internet news has replaced their local newspaper. Specific websites that seems to be popular include CNN.com, FoxNews, and the New York Times. Most people have only recently began visiting the New York Times website due to the requirements of this class. Parents are no longer around to inform their children on certain events, and many people commented on the role that their peers have on what news they learn about. A certain story may appear more important or more relevant based on their friend’s interests.

            As far as civic literacy is concerned, it is obvious that social networking has emerged as a very important source for news information. Facebook and Twitter allow people to gather and share data quickly. Social networking users can choose specifically what types of news they want to read about by following certain pages and people. I was introduced to a new app that allows users to customize their browser to only report on stories related to their interest. Carr would agree (with a sense of disgust) that gathering news has evolved into an internet-dominated process. Hedges would concur, but would add that using the Internet creates an illiterate society due to the abundance of pictures on the web. Sullivan, on the other hand, would praise the evolution of Internet-based news sources. As an avid blogger, Sullivan appreciates the efficiency, speed, and ease of the Internet.  I appreciate this too.