It seems sometimes that we live in a world that cares more about pop culture than actual world events and that is a major problem. It is important to talk about actual world events, even if they make you feel sad or angry. I'm guilty of sometimes ignoring problems because "there's been too many sad things happening this week" or "I can't relate"; after all, ignorance is bliss. But if we ignore all the world's problems we're not giving the people these awful things happen to the proper respect they deserve. Here are some reasons every generation should care about current events.
Why young kids should know about current events: Many people feel that kids aren't mature enough to understand what is going on in the world or we should try and keep their innocence in tact but kids should know what is going on in the world. I'm not saying we tell them point blank that the world sucks sometimes and tell them all the bad things that are happening but kids are smart. They hear the news on when they enter a room or the hushed whispers of parents when there's a shooting in France; they hear what's going on. It's better to sit down and have a discussion with them in terms they understand.
Ways to talk about it with them: Ask them what they heard on the news and listen to the way they hear it. Then explain to them what is happening in whatever words you choose. You don't have to say "shooting" or "bombing"; you can say bad people doing bad things. Ask them how they feel about it and then explain to them what is happening to fix it and make them feel safe. My mom did that with me growing up and it helped me realize the world around me.
Why high schoolers/teenagers should know about current events: High school is an awkward time in general so it can be hard to talk about sensitive topics like shootings (around the world, not just in the U.S.). But they are at a crucial age to understand what is going on in the world. When you turn 18 you are an adult in the eyes of the state and can vote, but some 18-year-olds don't even know why the war in Iraq happened or what is going on there currently. It's sad we live in a country where immigrants from other countries are excepted to know everything about the U.S when many of our citizens can't tell us much about our policies let alone what is going on in the rest of the world. As a teen you can't just take what you learn in school as your whole truth about what goes on in the world; you have to go out and seek information. You are the next generation, and it is up to you to take care of the world, so before you can take care of it you have to know your current events.
Ways to talk about it: Twitter doesn't always have wrong information; in fact, it can have the most up-to-date facts on things happening. Take one thing you see on Twitter and ask your friends about it. For example, you can talk about the shooting in the club in Orlando or even something more recent. Ask them if they can connect what happened in America to the shootings happening in other countries. You can connect it back to America to make it relevant to yourself while still talking about current events.
Why college/young adults should care about current events: College ties in a lot with high school. In fact it's even easier to get lost in your own world at college. When you live in a college town it is like a whole other world. You live and breath next to thousands of other people the same age as you. You go to class, some clubs, some people even have jobs, and it always seems at the end of the day there is never enough time to get everything done. But it is important to talk about current events because you are working towards getting your degree, which will lead to your future job. Now, if you're going towards, let's say, an engineering degree, you might not see the purpose in talking about what's going on in other countries. But if you study the terrorist attacks in other countries you can work on making designs for a building that can hold up against a bombing. That not only helps your own country but can be passed on to help other countries as well.
Ways to talk about it: It can be hard to bring up anything in college without a big debate. You may all live in the same little world but that does not mean you are the same kind of people. Sometimes it's good to have a debate and hear everyone's side of things. If everyone in the world believed the same thing as you, there would be no room to grow. So you can causally reference something that would cause a lot of arguments, like the election, and then change the conversation to also talk about international politics. You can compare the two presidential candidates to other presidents around the world or discuss how they would handle the current events unfolding in the world if they were to be elected.
Why adults should care about current events: When you're an adult, especially a parent, it is easy to feel like you don't have any time of your own, so why would you spend it talking or thinking about things that don't concern you? The main reason is because you're an example for the next generation. It doesn't matter if you're a parent or not; if you don't talk about what's going on, the younger generation won't either. The reason why we have history classes is so that history doesn't repeat itself but we can't wait around for another 50 years for today's present day to make it into the history books. We have to start talking about it today.
Ways to talk about it: Talk to your kids about it, see ways to talk about it with younger kids above, or you can mention it to your coworkers or friends. It doesn't have to be a huge debate but you can mention, "I never thought that Great Britain left the U.K." or something along those lines; it doesn't have to be about mass shootings, etc. They might not know what happened and it would peak their interest which would lead to them learning more about it.
So next time you're on your phone or you have a few minutes of free time, open up a news app (yes, they have those) and read the latest story. There's no guarantee that it won't upset you but it's still important to understand what's going on. We live in America where there are no limits on the information that we can find, so take advantage of it and I challenge you to talk about current events in some way.
It can be as simple as a 5 minute conversation.
