Currently, the society has a love-hate relationship with the media. The technological advances of the last few decades has allowed information, regardless of importance or relevance, to be disseminated cheaper, faster, and to larger audiences. While we enjoy having the luxury to hear, read, or watch the news wherever we are, the information that is most readily available is not always the most important, especially when it comes to American society and politics. Our Google News page or the Today Show may still report on Lindsay Lohan's personal life or Antoine Dodson when perhaps there might be more pressing matters.
It's easy to get frustrated, or to completely shut down from the overwhelming barrage of scientific studies negating each other, violent crimes, partisan chatter, and the latest update on the financial crisis. In high school, a teacher once revealed that he sometimes takes "breaks" from the news, refusing to open a newspaper or watch a news broadcast on television. And I have to confess, more often than not, I am on a break from the news media. Even though it is futile to attempt to know everything that happens as it happens, it does no good to go for the other extreme and shun all incoming information. What's needed in this age of information overload, is discretion.
Consider this: when you go to vote, how can you think for yourself and vote accordingly, if you don't know what the issues are beforehand? Not very well. And without voting, you are barely taking advantage of your citizenship.
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