These days, you are more likely to catch your dose of news updates whilst scrolling through Facebook or on Twitter. Social media seems to be where most of us find our news these days. Main stream media (MSM) in its traditional sense is struggling. Sales of newspapers are down and many papers now have online versions although with some of them you still have to pay to access their websites.
Of course, there is now the issue of so called "fake news" but I guess in a way we've always had that because even the MSM have always only printed what they wanted you to read and not always given the full story.
The easy access to news 24 hours a day should mean that we are all more informed about what is happening around the world but sadly it would seem that's not always the case.
Many people lead such seemingly busy lives - always on the go, rushing around etc. that sometimes things pass them by. Sure news of big events still reach them, like election results or who won Bake Off or Strictly Come Dancing but the things that should be important seem to pass them by.
Many people don't see what happens in other parts of the world as relevant to their lives but in the 21st century everything is interlinked - global trade and politics affects every part of our daily lives.
There are so many people around the world trying to make a difference and it's sad that for the most part no-one knows what they are doing.
Women working in rural parts of India and Africa to educate other women and young girls on menstruation and gynaecological issues and helping to alleviate period poverty; Mothers in parts of South America fighting hard to keep their children out of armed gangs; things like this are happening across the world yet very few people know anything about them.
I spend a lot of time online due to my work with Womb Cancer Support UK, searching for information and articles related to this issue to help raise awareness and also supporting those women who have been diagnosed. I come across a lot of other interesting stuff along the way and share as much as I can because I think it's important to do so.
Although the internet has made the world a much smaller place - we can connect with someone on the other side of the world instantly via messenger or Facebook and Twitter - it has also made us more distant from the things that are happening around us.
We scroll through our newsfeeds and yet do we actually read any of the stuff there? Most people are more likely to comment on a post from a friend talking about what they had for dinner than show any interest in a news article about some atrocity in a foreign country or the rape and murder of a young girl in rural India.
It seems the compassion and empathy has gone out of society and many people are so wrapped up in their own world that they don't have the time to care about anything or anyone else, and that is really sad.
If you have taken the time to read this, I thank you and I hope you will also take the time to read more posts and articles on social media that are of real importance. The lives of everyone on this planet are interconnected even if only in minute ways - but we all matter.
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