Ryan-

Allow me to clear up my position. Please don't be confused, I was just trying to point out, in my first piece, the reason why some of the youth of our generation rightly choose not to watch the news, read a newspaper, or listen to talk radio.

In my response to your first piece, I cited studies that showed that a good number of Gen Nexter's are watching the news, reading newspapers, or checking the news online. I stated this to show that, although the stereotype of our generation dictates that we care about nothing else but popular culture, our generation is indeed interested in our nation's foreign policy, what part of Iraq the bodies of our family members and friends are found, and how much the government is cutting the department of education's budget to fund the relentless war effort.

However, I do know for a fact that of those who do read newspapers, watch news casts, or go online have selective attention. They only pay heed to what they can foresee themselves agreeing with.

Even my friends are "headliners"; they check the headlines for attractive titles that grab their interest. If it's not screaming "Read me!," "Disaster!" or "College students need apply" there's no hope. More so now than ever, the attention span of youth is 15 seconds or less. It is because of this that comedies such as "South Park" and personalities such as Jon Stewart, Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh have a large contingent of youth followers, they know how to amalgamate humor and relevant news topics in ways that keep even the most ADD of our generation hooked.

Interestingly yet not surprisingly, the media has played into our short-lived curiosity with news-on-the-go specials, scrolling news briefings on Blackberries, abridged newspapers, and the option of reading a full or abbreviated version of a story online. This has lead to a bastion of well-notified yet misinformed individuals under the age of 30.

What I mean is, we get the news, but few of us really understand the underlying issues. We know that a nuclear weapon was tested in North Korea, what time it was tested, and that it's supposed to be a horrible event and a potential threat to our nation. But, when it comes to why it was tested, what threats the test actually poses to our daily lives, and why the global community is really concerned is beyond many of us.

In this aspect, I have to agree with you, Ryan, that there seem to be "so many better things to do with your time than follow current events" when you don't truly understand what's going on. Just like our parents, and grandparents before them, it will take time and the assemblage of responsibility, or a cataclysmic event to make us divulge deeply into news topics.

Personally, I choose to get my information from a variety of sources. I'm not a big fan of blogs for the simple fact that everyone can write one. How am I supposed to know who to and not to trust? The Internet is one ambiguous place where people (those who are in countries that consider speech a fundamental right) can publish whatever they want, and the last thing I want to do is quote someone or something that is absolutely and completely wrong or misguided.

Yet, I find CNN to be my liberal haven where news stories ring true with me and the facts of the story aren't skewed to the point where they can't be rescued. I do watch BBC and read Time magazine (when the cover photo is attractive) and occasionally pick up a New York Times to ace my quiz in government.

But, in reality, I am no different than many of my peers. I find myself reading up on the current rise in the deficit and laugh to myself thinking about our president's 2004 campaign commercials that, in retrospect, seem so hypocritical.

Our generation is not without hope. We have the propensity to be one of the most memorable in history. We are the first supremely technologically advanced, universally educated, globally aware, un-isolated generation in history. If only we could shake the ignorance of our age, and add wisdom to our intellect that comes from living in the world, no one would be able to complain.

But, since we don't we must wait. To all of our critics, I say analyze our generation in 10 years and see if we're not reversing the negative affects that the leaders of your generations have caused us.

- Natalia