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Our Generation and Paris Hilton

Posted by: BethJ007 on May 17, 2007 at 11:17PM EST

I just want to start of by saying- and this is completely unrelated to the rest of my blog- but how in the WORLD did Paris Hilton get her jail sentenced reduced already? And for "good behavior"?? I thought you had to, oh I don't know, BE IN JAIL in order to get a reduced sentence for good behavior. Absolutely ridiculous. Those darn law-breaking socialites. They just can't play by the rules.

The other night my dad said something that got me thinking. We were talking about a college friend of mine and my dad asked where she was from. I replied that I didn't remember, to which he said "I don't understand your generation- you have all the information at your fingerstips yet you aren't interested in finding out the most basic things."

This really struck a note with me. It's a topic that I have heard a lot lately- the youth today are apathetic and uninterested in what is going on in the world around them. Though I hate such blanket statements, I can kind of see where it is coming from.

I'll look at myself specifically: I don't tend to watch the news or read the newspaper. I couldn't tell you the state of the War In Iraq. I couldn't say where the presidential candidates stand on what issues. I consider myself ignorant to a lot.

But then I take a look at why. Yes, my generation has access to all the information in the world. But when we are constantly bombarded with it, it becomes so hard to filter out what is important and what is "fluff". Our minds simply cannot process all of the information we are presented with. So we resort to seeking out the things that pertain to us and leaving the rest alone. And I don't know what we should do about it.

I just want to know what people think about this issue- what issues do you care about? Is staying informed something that is important to you? I want some other views on this because it is hard to defend my generation when I can see people's point about us being ignorant.

Thanks!

(4) Comments

Posted by: juff on May 23, 2007 1:13PM EST

I find your blog very thought provoking. I am a 40-ish mom of two and I am guilty as well of not staying informed about the world. I probably choose (as Ash does) to stay in my own happy little world. My husband tends to be the one in our house who is well-informed of current events. I do wish for my children to desire to be wordly. Now that I have actually put some thought to this I will come up with a plan for the summer. Thanks for getting my brain going!! Since most of us are on the computer, maybe we should challenge ourselves to read the headlines on Fox News or whatever media you choose!!

Posted by: Jax on May 22, 2007 10:03AM EST

My dad has said the same thing, except his view is that our generation doesn't fight for what is important. Crosses are being taken out of churches, global warming is causing a turn for the worse, and gas prices are increasing at a faster pace than ever.

I also don't read the news and I feel out of the loop on a lot of things that I wish I knew about. However, I also asked my mom the other day if she knew the presidential candidates' platforms and she said no. I think the fact is that most of us are lazy or we are so busy that we don't take time to be informed about the world around us.

I know my goal for next year is to start reading the newspaper (or at least CNN online) to find out about situations that are happening. However, I have started to read my school's newspaper, so that's at least a start for me!

Posted by: Lauren Champ on May 18, 2007 12:12AM EST

I hate this stereotype of teenagers above all others. This is a choice every individual makes, no matter what their age. Most people choose to remain ingorant because things like politics and the war do not really affect them at home unless they know someone who is involved. The media does not aim much at teenagers anyway unless it is about people like Paris Hilton, and I do not believe that celebrities are very newsworthy (especially not Paris Hilton). The media is sending mixed signals of importance based on what ratings they want to get. I find it sad that more people know Paris Hilton is going to jail than the amount of people who know Obama's or McCain's platforms. Worldy issues should be paid more attention to, by everyone, because they are the things that truly do affect us.

Posted by: Ash on May 17, 2007 11:46PM EST

Im so sick of Paris Hilton. She should go to jail for the rest of her life.
Ive never thought about what your dad said but I guess it really is true for a lot of us. And I am just like you with the ignorance about whats around me. I know, in my case atleast, one of the biggest reasons I don't pay much attention to things like politics is that Im sick of seeing all the corruption and I also think the media overplays too many issues that don't really have any significance. Id rather stay in my own happy little world ruling my own life.