Safe, boring, and blissfully uninformed

Ricaela Diputado

News isn’t news unless it’s shared on social media. That unwritten rule is quietly shaping how an entire generation of Macau youth understands the city they live in.

Social media has brought countless newsworthy incidents to light. Yet the question remains: do young people — those fully capable of comprehending real-life cases events — actually care to know what’s happening around them?

Checking the news is stereotypically a “grown-up” thing. But wouldn’t a primary, or secondary school student benefit from being aware of the events unfolding in their own city? The problem is, if it isn’t served up on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook, most young people in Macau remain completely unaware — and cling comfortably to the stereotype belief that they live in one of the safest places in the world.

Why? Because these platforms offer quick bites, not the full story. A headline flashes past, a clip plays for fifteen seconds, and the context is gone before it ever lands. Young people absorb fragments and mistake them for understanding. They know the punchline but not the plot — the outrage but not the outcome.

Granted, some students are asked to bring a news clipping to school, dissect it and explain it in their own words. But why isn’t this a regular practice — something that doesn’t feel like a chore? When reading the news is framed as homework, it becomes something to finish rather than something to be curious about. That framing matters more than we admit. Curiosity, after all, cannot be assigned.

The wider public, meanwhile, relies on the most convenient information available, and understandably so. Everyone is busy. Not everyone has time to sit down and read the local news. Yes, some families still have parents who model reading a traditional newspaper over breakfast — but that habit is dying. We have so much at our fingertips, yet we still choose not to become better informed about our own city.

When I speak to my peers, they often tell me there’s nothing to do in Macau — that it’s boring. But since entering journalism, I’ve become acutely aware of just how much happens here. These events do occur. People simply miss them — whether because of a language barrier, or because they are completely unaware of what’s on.

There are advertisements on buses and on the streets, but most people ignore them — then claim they had no idea anything was happening, missing the chance to enjoy a new or special experience. The information was there. The curiosity was not.

What I’ve been trying to understand is this: people say Macau is boring and safe, but plenty is happening — perhaps just down the street from where you live. I’m certainly not against travelling abroad for new and exciting experiences. I just think people should think twice before calling their home boring and safe, when so much is going on that they’re completely unaware of — simply for lack of curiosity or effort.

And when it comes to crime, there’s a saying: “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” I disagree. Not knowing puts you at risk — you may not know how to protect yourself when it matters most. Staying informed isn’t just about being a better citizen. Sometimes, it’s about being a safer one.