A natural disaster that destroyed a city, a newly elected president and a beloved actor who won an Oscar. All of these pieces of news can be efficiently spread throughout the country with the help of the advanced technology of today’s world. However, not all types of news are received in equal amounts among the MRHS student body.
With social media being a centerpiece in the lives of teenagers, many students at MRHS tend to pay attention to what news is popular among their peers on the internet. A majority of this type of news can be characterized as pop culture. When asking students what type of news they paid attention to, more students paid attention to pop culture news rather than substantive news. The difference between the two was defined by students as a matter of relevance.
“I think substantive news is more societally important, and it’s needed to provide information for the good of people. While pop culture news is more interesting, it’s not really necessary,” junior Logan Woo explained.
Information tends to be dramatized within the pop culture world, making it more exciting for friend groups to discuss Tom Holland and Zendaya’s engagement rather than the president’s inauguration. This dramatization could explain the students’ preference for entertainment news as it produces more controversial topics.
“I think [pop culture news] is more appealing to our age group because it is more directly linked to their friend’s interests,” junior Elizabeth Yoo shared.
Yoo also mentioned how social media and the algorithm play a key role in how students receive news. For example, a popular form of transferring news to the younger generation is through doom-scrolling. Students shared that Instagram Reels and TikTok videos were able to capture their attention by being short and to the point. In some cases, the news is paired with another captivating video, which typically consists of gaming, art or cooking, in order to keep the viewer engaged while also receiving information. Due to the popularity of this method, it can be difficult for substantive news to make an appearance within student conversations, as it cannot compete with the stimuli (or dopamine) packages that come with the news coverage on social media platforms. Making substantive news more appealing to teenagers is not an easy task; however, students have some ideas as to what approach one could take to achieving this.
“[Substantive news would be more appealing] if it clarified the real life impact it has on us because, for example, even when you hear about politics, someone may be elected, but what does that really mean for our age group?” Woo questioned.
Despite the difference in their audiences, both types of news are important. Although students may strive to read informational news so that they can feel aware of affairs taking place at a larger scale, there are other times students may want to then lean back and get a taste of excitement from the buzzing gossip of pop culture news.