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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Tampa chapter.

Agenda: 

  • Why I’m writing this article
  • Techniques for staying updated with current events
  • Strategies for acquiring more general information
  • My self-created guide that is easy to employ

Why I’m writing this article

Earlier this year, I had a wake-up call. When I’m conversing with others, I always have the desire to contribute to the conversation. There are times when I do have the ability to contribute. In other instances, I feel unqualified to participate because I have little to no knowledge about the topic; therefore, it would be foolish and embarrassing to do so. Without sufficient knowledge of context and prior exposure to a topic, it’s difficult to express an informed opinion. At this point, I can either ask questions right then and there or I can look up the topic myself. The former would be a good option if the questions are very simple and if the explanation doesn’t take much time. Otherwise, I should do the research myself. The reasons why improving my general knowledge is so important to me is because I want to improve my confidence in myself, make it easier for me to solve problems, and expand my range of topics that I’m able to discuss with others, nurturing deeper connections. 

I believe social media overuse has had a significant contribution to this problem. It causes people to have in-depth knowledge of a narrower range of topics. The higher your social media usage is, the more the algorithms learn from you. The posts that you like, the videos you watch, and the content you engage with most often determine what content will appear in your personalized social media feed. I’m not sure if this is the case with other people, but I have a lot of knowledge about niche topics. YouTube is a platform I use religiously. I use it more than I use Instagram and other social media platforms. Much of the content in my YouTube feed contains videos on the following topics: self-improvement, psychology, children’s book illustration tips (I’ve been conducting research since I’m currently illustrating a children’s book professionally), fitness tips, life advice, art business advice, and changes in modern society. I feel pretty knowledgeable in these topics, which are all great topics, and I love discussing such things with my friends and family, but of course, others and I would get tired of only discussing these things. I personally feel that I need to increase my knowledge of current events and politics. 

By writing this article, I’m making time for myself. It’s like how people say, “put your health before your grades.” We as a society generally prioritize what NEEDS to be done, which are usually things that other people tell us to do, such as homework assigned by our professors or work tasks assigned by our bosses. These situations have strict deadlines, which include serious consequences if you don’t follow through. If you don’t do your homework, you’ll fail the course that you paid for, and you’ll end up having to take it again, wasting thousands of dollars. If you don’t do the work your boss assigns, you’ll get fired and will possibly have to spend months searching for another job while having to manage your spending on top of that. No one benefits from us doing the work to improve ourselves except for us. It’s no one’s responsibility but our own. It’s easy to let things like these slide because, again, we’re not facing pressure from others, and there are no immediate consequences. Instead, if we don’t take the time to focus on our improvement, we can suffer more subtle but long-term consequences. For example, if you decide not to go to a therapist when you have poor mental health, it’s subtle because it’s not easily noticed by everyone, but you’ll suffer in the long term because you’ll feel involved in an endless cycle of misery. When you neglect to improve your general knowledge, at some point, you’ll feel left out and left behind because there will be a lot of times when you can’t participate or do not understand what is going on. I saw a gap in my life, and the problem was that I needed to improve my level of general knowledge. Conducting research, writing down what I learned, and creating my own guide will help me retain what I learned, force myself to create a solution, and keep myself accountable since my articles are open to the public and peers read my articles. 

I found a YouTube video and an online article that I liked. The video explains tips on how to stay updated with current events, and the article provides tips on how to easily acquire more information in your everyday life. I’ll write down what I learned and then create my own guide, which, of course, you’re welcome to follow.

Methods to Stay Updated with Current Events

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTmWND3weXw

1. Google Doodles

https://doodles.google/

Google Doodles consist of alterations of the Google logo to celebrate people, places, cultures, and events. You can explore various Google Doodles by clicking the link above. 

  • Click on a logo that interests you, such as “Greece National Day 2024” and there’s a short passage that will provide you context on that specific topic. 
  • Sneha Banerjee, the YouTuber behind her channel, Book Junction, recommends writing down what you find interesting on a sticky note, inside of a notebook, or both. 
  • She also recommends starting your morning by using this method. Each time you learn something, you grow

2. Subscribe to Current Affairs Channels

Go to the search bar on YouTube and type “current affairs channels.” You’ll see plenty of news channels discussing current events in the US as well as international channels.

3. Read Articles on Medium

This is something that I personally do, but I’m working on turning it into a more consistent habit. With Medium, you can write and share stories. There are so many topics available to read. Of course, some of the current event articles you find may be biased, but they still provide a good perspective on what’s happening.

4. Maintain a General Knowledge Notebook

Jot down interesting things, such as what you learn from employing the three methods above, as well as knowledge that is important to you. This is a method I’d like to employ ASAP, so what I plan on doing is carrying my notebook with me everywhere I go. 

5. Read News Online

  • Instead of scrolling on social media, open the Google app on your phone and scroll down. You’ll find news articles covering various topics. This is a tip my dad suggested.
  • Read current event topics across multiple sources/websites.

Methods you can Easily Employ to Learn in your Everyday Life

Source: https://nerdish.io/blog/ways-to-increase-your-knowledge-about-everything/

1. Use Nerdish app

  • Easy, fun, and quick way to consume bit-sized information

2. Read

  • Read quality literature, blogs, and articles that will teach you valuable information. Choose to read an article about the production of ultra-processed foods over an article about celebrity gossip.
  • Reading activities multiple cognitive functions: attention, concentration, comprehension, and analysis
  • Read everyday for 15-30 min minimum. You can also break this up into intervals. Doing so will make it much easier for you to meet the 30 min mark. 

3. Listen

  • Youtube videos
  • Podcasts

4. Watch

  • Documentaries
  • Youtube videos
  • Ted Talks

5. Use Microlearning

  • Involves looking up what you need to know in order to solve a specific task
  • Bite-sized info
  • Helps you fill small gaps in your knowledge
  • Example: Googling a term that you’re uncertain of

6. Learn One New Thing a Day

  • Following the current event methods above will give you something new to add to your GK journal each day, but of course, you’re not limited to that. You can write anything new that you learn that you find interesting.

7. Socialize

  • As you speak to people, whether they’re new or familiar faces, collect data from your conversations. Take note when people talk about cultures, life views, or experiences. This will help you build upon your knowledge, which will help you understand and contribute to future conversations and navigate future situations.
  • This is a strategy I employ already. Everytime I speak with my professors one-on-one, I always write down their helpful advice immediately after.

8. Explain Things to Others 

  • Helps to retain info
  • Leads to good conversations

9. Define your Curiosities

  • Write down what you’re curious about, any questions that you have, any topics you’d like to learn more about.
  • You could also write down a list of topics you think you should know more about, such as politics and history.

10. Mix it Up

  • You don’t need to go all in at a time. Learn a variety of topics per day so your mind stays interested and engaged.

This is great, but what do I do with all of this information?

If you want to formulate new habits, you need to make them easy, attractive, and attainable. This is my self-created guide that you can also follow. My guide will consist of simple micro-habits. 

  1. Move social media apps to a new and inconvenient location and replace that spot with productive apps: YouTube, Medium, ABC News, etc. Productive apps are placed in one cluster, and mindless social media apps are placed in another.
  2. Write a list of topics that you’re curious about or those you feel you need to acquire more knowledge in. If you’re extremely interested in a topic, you may find yourself entering a rabbit hole and investing way more time into learning than you expected.
  3. Start watching news/current event videos from specific channels on YouTube. The more you watch these videos, the more they’ll appear in your feed, reminding you to keep yourself updated. An alternative solution to this is to turn on the notifications for the channels you like. 
  4. Watch an informative YouTube video or documentary, or listen to a podcast while you’re eating or working out. 
  5. Replace usual social media scrolling with article or book reading. Google searches, Google Doodles, Google News, ABC News, Medium, Nerdish, Read for at least 15 min a day.
  6. Carry a GK notebook everywhere you go so that when you learn something new or something is on your mind that you’d like to write about, you can immediately write it down
  7. Replace immediate morning phone usage with reading Google News.
  8. Start introducing what you learn to friends and family
Melody Valberg is a writer for the Tampa Her Campus chapter. Her articles cover the topics of emotional intelligence, college life and life advice. Outside of Her Campus, Melody is pursuing a degree in graphic design with a minor in marketing. She's currently professionally illustrating her first children's book called The Hangry Lady, which will be published in the Fall of 2024. She also runs an art business called Melody's Portraits where she creates unique digital illustration, mixed media, and painted portraits of people and pets. She previously interned for IT Success, where she was responsible for completely redesigning their website, managing social media accounts, outreach, and creating engaging content. In her free time, Melody loves traveling, going to the beach, painting, singing karaoke, watching drag shows, spending quality time with her friends and family and journaling. She's also still a youtube kid at heart.