Young generations have ample access to news sources due to the recent increase in technology. Because of this widespread use, people are finding new ways to make entertainment and news more accessible to the public. As a result, members of Gen Z find themselves having to make choices about how informed they want to be, and consequently, which media to consume.

“I think it’s important to know about current events, good or bad,” said NPHS freshman Rachel Zack. 

However, she acknowledged that news is often negative, which influences whether younger generations choose to regularly read the news, and therefore can limit their knowledge of current events. 

For example,  Zack said: “I learned about [a] 104-year old woman from Chicago, Dorthy Hoffner, trying to break the world record for ‘oldest skydiver’ on Today.com’’ 

For Zack, choosing to read these positive news articles allows her to feel more comfortable when reading negative news.  

 “The news has a lot of negative content so I try to stay aware but not fully absorbed,”  she said. 

On the other hand, sophomore Mitzuki Miyashita chooses to read the news because she wants to “know what is really happening in the world.”

For example, “I learned that the global human population will decline soon because of the limited food sources,” said Miyashita.  

Miyashita explained that despite its negativity, she feels this information is essential to understand:   “We are the next generation of the world, and sooner or later all of us are going to be entering the world as adults, but if we enter with complete ignorance of how the world functions, we’re doomed.”

To represent how students have tried to maintain this balance of positive and negative news, an informal poll of NPHS underclassmen showed what news topics they are interested in: