Discovering Digital Empowerment When the News Cycle has You Down

The recent news cycle has been tough to take. I often want to tune out but feel obligated to be an aware and informed citizen. In the course of one morning I saw videos of desperate children in detention centers separated from their immigrant parents, two separate families speaking about the suicides of their middle school children and how the schools failed to discipline bullies, and adults from my home state of North Carolina beating on each other at a girls softball tournament in Tennessee. Way to represent, Tar Heels.

It’s times like these I need to balance the miserable and disturbing with the uplifting and inspiring. Three websites have recently come on my radar that are awesome examples of digital empowerment.

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Women Who Inspire

While reading my alumni magazine from University of Wisconsin, (Go Badgers!) I came across a profile of Cynthia Hornig, who along with her business partner Jennifer Jones, launched the website Women You Should Know in 2011. Profiling women around the world, Women You Should Know has a little something for everyone. Whether it’s trailblazing scientists from the 1700’s who have been all but forgotten, a woman who became the first fisherwomen in her small village in Senegal, or stories of young girls helping disadvantaged youth around the world, this is the news I want to read. These stories of ingenuity and thoughtfulness demonstrate how even small acts can change the world. You can find it all here.

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Women On Top

MAKERS is a website featuring short videos, documentaries, profiles and interviews with women at the top of their game. They are the “newsMakers, historyMAKERS, and troubleMAKERS.” Women who are breaking glass ceilings, women in positions of leadership across disciplines and even men who fully support women as equals, are all part of this collection of inspiration and encouragement. You can see their videos here.

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The Badass Pastor

Nadia Bolz-Weber is the tattooed, weightlifting, formerly drug addicted, Lutheran Pastor, shaking up the church and challenging how people see religion.

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Pastor Bolz-Weber talks like a truck driver, supports the LGBTQIA community and wants to heal wounds that have been caused by the church. Her words of wisdom are not always religious in nature, but rather share a message of peace, humanity and common sense. I stumbled across this video last week on a day when I really needed it.

Also a New York Times best selling author, Bolz-Weber’s books and sermons are available here as well as many helpful videos on YouTube.

As consumers of news we don’t have to wallow in the sadness of world events.

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Be informed but be balanced. Seek out the beautiful and wonderful things happening all around the world that don’t get coverage on GMA or the 6 o’clock news.

What do you tune into when the news cycle has you down?

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