When I opened my Google app this morning to get more information about the death of a student-athlete from my home town (I know…not my business, but not the point of this blog post), I was provided a list of “stories to read”. The first story was from International The News was titled: “Ariana Grande flies pet dog on a private jet”.

My first reaction was, “I’m jealous, I wish I had a private jet to bring my beloved pooch over to Italy!” My second reaction was to wonder, “Is this actually considered news?” Which led to me searching for the name of the source….which happens to be called International The News. Then, my third reaction was sadness that my search history indicates that I am more passionate about celebrity lifestyle than I am about real problems in the world.

How are we supposed to know what relevant news is?

“Relevant” is a complex term, much like all terms. Relevance is really in the eyes of the beholder. “News” is another complex term and could probably use a more specific definition. In my mind, News is about policy, international relations, economics, and the environment. The news could also be about what is new in the world. Breaking News: Gucci belts have become the new “must-have” accessory among young men and women aged 11 to 25. Breaking News: I finally finished watching “13 Reasons Why”.

What is “relevant” to me isn’t necessarily “relevant” to you and what’s “news” to me isn’t necessarily “news” to you. So how can we know what is “relevant” and what is “news”. I think it is our job as intelligent people in a modern world to create a univocal definition for these terms.

I tend to be quite confident in my moral compass and my understanding of the important things in life, but that doesn’t mean that I actually always know what is right and what is wrong. I also certainly don’t know what people should be knowledgeable about. I can have an opinion about that, though. We are all entitled to our opinions.

In my opinion

An article about Ariana Grande’s dog parenting does not belong in a source titled International The News unless the story actually aims to describe the global environmental impact of this behavior, i.e. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Titles are the attention-grabbing aspect of an article, followed by the introduction, but the purpose of an article in International The News should not be gossip. This is where our unlimited access to information becomes dangerous: seemingly credible websites spoon-feeding us irrelevant information.

Why is Ariana Grande’s dog irrelevant? In the global scheme of things, this creature is a grain of sand. The “big picture” would be too complex if it was painted with every detail of every one of the more than 7 billion people in the world. News, in my opinion, should discuss the “big picture” in that it should provide an overview of the topics that are being discussed by groups of experts who work to ensure that humans can continue thriving as a species.

Interesting headlines are a great way to draw in more people. How neat would it be if this article about Ariana Grande’s dog was actually an educational piece which explained how this behavior contributes to global GHG emissions? Maybe an article of this sort would cause more of the general public to think about their own life choices that aren’t so eco-friendly? Maybe an article of this sort would spark a conversation about setting restrictions on personal jet usage? I say this because I’m not sure one can say that owning and using a personal jet is a human right….I think it is one of those things that could have some limitations.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts!