Opinion Essay

Why is it important to stay informed? (Newspaper, TV...)

News is a very important part of our daily life, but as important news is, as quickly it changes. Because of this it is very difficult to know the most important and latest news in politics, society, culture… Because of these changes is it really important to stay informed? Yes, it really is and in the following three reasons I want to explain why.

My first reason why it’s important to stay informed is that having conversations is much easier with a good knowledge about what’s going on in our world. When you are up-to-date you can make your own opinion for example about the shutdown of Guantanamo and you are able to discuss this topic with other people. Without this knowledge you couldn’t really join the conversation and the people around you could think that you’ve got no interests in the society or that you are not intelligent. Moreover I would say that staying informed is an advantage in job interviews.

The second advantage is that staying informed can save lives. Last week there was much fresh snow and the danger of avalanches rose up, sometimes even to the highest level. Many skiers and people who love alpine touring like this fresh snow and also like skiing next to the slopes which often causes avalanches. But if the danger of avalanches is reported in the news and the sportsmen stay informed they get to know the level of the danger. Even if there are still too many avalanches I think there would be more if so many sportsmen wouldn’t stay informed.

The third point of why it is so important to stay informed is that we live in a democracy and I would say at least we should be informed about the changes and news in our country. Like adults teenagers should try to know the latest news in our country. Because especially when they are entitled to vote they should know which party they want to support and what this party stands for. Otherwise another shift to the right could be possible as it was after the last elections in Austria.

To conclude, I would say that it isn’t difficult to stay informed because of all the newspapers, TV and especially the internet. You just have to try it. Of course you won’t be able to follow all the news and updates, but you should find out which news are important for you and then you try to stay informed because it can make your life easier during interviews, conversations and it also can save your life.