Reading the News Can Give Kids a Competitive Edge

Kids and young adults are often advised to form a habit of reading the newspaper. As often as we may hear this advice, there is never an explanation that follows why one must keep a habit of reading the newspaper. Reading in general is an excellent habit and one that should be encouraged by teachers and parents alike.

Reading the news however is viewed as an activity meant for adults. The importance of reading the news is often not harped upon until children reach later stages of life such as higher education and job interviews. Alas, when the time comes, last-minute preparation and mugging up the news and current affairs are futile! It’s not just important to read the news but formulate a good habit of reading it regularly.

Where is the youth getting their news from nowadays?

Reading the news no longer means only picking up a newspaper! News is all around u,s from the dinner table and classroom discussions to overhearing a passing debate about the upcoming government election, it’s all news! News is an aspect that has seeped into the fibre of our every day and one must constantly keep in touch with the news. The most common source of news is no longer newspapers, television channels or news debates or even the radio, you guessed it, it’s social media!

Social media has structurally changed how we read news, In contrast to the long wordy sentences we see in newspapers, it has gotten our attention span used to 5-6 quick sentences that deliver us a breaking news story in a nutshell. But given the cramped space and our short attention spans, we often end up reading only half the information and not the full news piece.

We know that half-knowledge about a topic is more dangerous than no knowledge at all. If one doesn’t have the full facts or a piece of fabricated news and speaks of it as facts and mislead and misinforms their peers. Moreover, news on social media isn’t thoroughly fact-checked and is often sensationalised to grab the attention of as many people as possible,

How does reading the news help you stand out?

Reading the news is a habit and if one may say so, it’s even a passion! Children are often instructed to read the news because it will keep them up to date on the happenings of the world but surely there could be a bigger incentive than just this, right? So let’s discuss the umpteen number of benefits that one gets from reading the news!

1. Helps build a strong vocabulary base – Reading the newspapers helps one familiarise themselves with the relevant abbreviations and jargon that are used in connection with certain industries and cases. This helps build a strong base of general knowledge and vocabulary. Reading the news also introduces us to new words, their synonyms and their many usages.

2. Improves your reading speed and critical thinking – Reading huge blocks of texts such as news articles and newspapers helps students increase their reading speed and analytical skills. Reading fast and accurately extracting the crux of what a text is trying to convey is a skill that only comes with practice. Reading a fixed number of articles a day surely helps students read and think with greater speed and precision.

3. Gives kids an edge in GK Current affairs in exams – This is a big one! Regularly keeping up with the latest news across business, politics, media, environment and science and technology really pays off! Competitive exams as well as school exams include a general knowledge section, which helps with ground discussion personal interviews for master’s programs and job interviews with HR panels.

4. Helps them formulate their own opinions and practice debate skills – An important part of reading the news is to read people’s thoughts and opinions about complex topics. This helps understand important ethical and practical issues as well as the strengths and weaknesses of arguments. In turn, reading editorials and think pieces are a great exercise for those who enjoy mental challenges.

5. Knowledge of business and industries – There is a widely cast misconception among most of us that news is just rote learning facts, dates and names and important people, but news has so many practical uses! News from the business world helps industries grow and prosper, it helps professionals in the workplace keep up with the changes and policies of their respective workplaces.

The Takeaway Reading the news is a fantastic habit to have for everyone from young ones to elders and adults. Being aware of world politics, local politics, businesses and companies help us be more informed citizens as well as consumers. Now that we have read about the many benefits of reading the news, it’s important to inform young children and teenagers about these benefits. This will inspire them to build a solid news-reading habit of their own (that hopefully accompanies them well into their adulthood) There are also news websites like Newsahoot.com, a news resource for kids that cater to an audience of children so that there’s news to go around for everyone!