People don‘t need to know the latest news because they are not related to them personally. Reading the news is just a waste of time. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Many people habitually read or watch the news every day. It can be argued that news reports are rarely relevant to most people‘s life and therefore the time keeping up with the news can be spend in a better way. In my personal view, news have several important functions making it worthwhile to be interested in them.

Today‘s headlines may not have an immediate impact on our personal life but they may well matter to our future. For example, scientific discoveries like new treatments for disease or findings about global warming may directly affect our life in the future. Many people are interested in these kind of news as they allow them anticipate future developments.

Being curious about what happens in the rest of the world can give us a broader view on many subjects. These days globalization is a reality and even events that happen geographically far away can influence us now. The economies of countries are highly interdependent and a tsunami in Japan can have far reaching and complex consequences for the global markets.

Then, some news are interesting to people more because of their social function. The weather, entertainment and sports news make good conversation topics. Therefore, it may be a good idea to stay current even with this more trivial news. These articles can also heighten our sense of belonging to a group like fans of a soccer club or star.

In conclusion, the news provide us with information that may matter to our future or understanding of complex topics. Some news also make useful conversation topics and help us to feel part of a community.