Keeping Up with Current Events: 5 Ways to Make It Simple

By Amelia Woolard

You have a lot to keep up with as a college student. First, there are your classes and assignments – whether in-person or online. There’s also your personal life, and the friendships you do your best to maintain, even during a time of social distancing. And, although it might have changed formats in the wake of COVID-19, you’ve most likely still have internship obligations to take care of. In all, you could say that your life is jam-packed with stuff to stay on top of. 

But, if you’re not also carving out some time to stay tuned into current events, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. These days, it’s especially crucial that you stay current with the news. A lot of what’s going on in the world affects you, especially when it comes to healthcare and student loan financing. It’s also an election year, which makes keeping up-to-speed with current events even more important!  

Now that we’ve convinced you of the “why,” you might be wondering “how.” Not to fear! The team at uCribs has five good ways to stay in-the-know with latest breaking news.  

Download reliable news apps and turn on notifications. 

Want to stay up-to-date with current events? There’s definitely an app for that. In fact, there are tons of news apps out there, from the likes of Google News, AP News, and many more. News apps are a convenient way to stay informed because they live on your smartphone or tablet, monitor what you consume, and will send push notifications to your device whenever a new story you might be interested in arises. Most apps also allow you to personalize your news feed, so you can stay abreast with sports, entertainment, and health, in addition to U.S. and world news. Even though you need a paid subscription to access unlimited articles on some apps, like The New York Times, you can bet that you’ll enjoy well-written articles by some of the best journalists in the world, as well as fun freebies including crossword puzzles and recipes.  

Follow news accounts on social media. 

If you’re like most other college students, you probably spend a lot of time on social media. So, why not use the social sites you already visit daily to keep up with what’s going on in the world? Just about every legitimate news source operates a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and/or Instagram account, with several platforms even using YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok. A ton of credible influencers run informational accounts on these platforms, too—with news and analysis you might not even be able to find on mainstream networks. Clearly, social media houses a ton of news-related content for you to explore. All you have to do is hit that “Like” or “Follow” button and wait to receive updates, which you can set as push notifications as well.  

Sign-up for email newsletters.  

Add something enjoyable to your inbox by signing up for email newsletters from your favorite news sources. You might roll your eyes at the thought of newsletters, since they seem obsolete. In reality, there should be several enticing newsletters options out there that you’ll look actually forward to reading. TheSkimm, for example, sends newsletters written from a young female perspective. CNN publishes daily newsletters that cover everything from foreign affairs to strange-but-true headlines. And, if you want to take your pick from a ton of intriguing newsletter options, head to Daily Beast, which runs eight different campaigns that cover topics from the entertainment biz to foreign affairs and world news.  

Set a news site as your browser homepage.  

You might not be attending classes per usual, but you’re probably still using your laptop just as much as before – if not more so, now that you’ve got an infinite amount of free time to binge your favorite series and hold Zoom calls with your respective sets of friends. Since you’re spending more time online, anyway, why not make your preferred news site your browser’s default homepage? That way, every time you open your web browser of choice, like Google Chrome or Safari, you’ll be met with the top, must-read articles of the day. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time browsing the news stories, you can at least skim over the headlines, which, if you ask us, is better than reading nothing at all!  

Listen to podcasts focusing on current events.  

Right now, you’re breaking from regular classes while COVID-19 circulates throughout the United States. For that reason, you might be content to play Animal Crossing yet again, instead of doing something productive. However, we suggest that you make the most of your newfound freedom by turning off the Nintendo Switch and turning on a news-related podcast. Besides, you’ve always wanted to see what the podcast hype was all about, and news is the perfect subject to start with. Like email newsletters, there are tons of options for podcasts. NPR’s Up First gives you a round-up of important daily news stories, while The Daily Dive uses interviews with experts to deliver must-know news. You can also choose to explore podcasts by news heavyweights, like The Wall Street Journal. The options are truly endless!  

College life can be like living in a bubble, where international politics and domestic news don’t exist. The thing is, though, that the world is a whole lot bigger than your campus, so it’s vital that you start paying attention to what’s happening within it. You have to admit that this is especially true now that a global pandemic is gripping our nation. Instead of scratching your head the next time your professor references a current event or your family starts talking about the latest coronavirus headline, beat them to the punch with our simple tips for staying informed.  

Share this article: