I’m a clichéd member of my generation when it comes to reading the news. I read a majority of it on the Internet.

I love politico.com; I check it almost obsessively. But what makes me really clichéd is what I’m watching from 8 to 9 at night Monday through Thursday—“The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.”

While the majority of my friends watch the shows live at 11 and 11:30 respectively, I catch them in re-runs the following days, because, quite honestly, I like my sleep.

My friends and I are not alone in our love for Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. In fact, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press discovered during the 2004 presidential election that 21 percent of people under the age of 30 got their political news from shows like “The Colbert Report” or Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”  By comparison, 23 percent of people in the same age bracket watched nightly news shows as a source for political information.

Much has been written about my generation’s love of these fake news shows, but very rarely from our perspective. So here’s what I think: Both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are legitimate supplements to a news diet. I liken them to vitamins. I would never attempt to get all my nutrients from a single pill; rather I eat a well-balanced meal. Fake news shows are the same way. They’re not intended to be sole sources of news, rather additions.

As supplements go, however, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are multi-vitamins. You can get a little bit of everything, but not quite enough to fulfill your daily needs. On a recent episode of The Colbert Report, host Stephen Colbert discussed his own failed bid for the presidency (and discussed, somewhat half-heartedly, the three remaining contenders) and his quest for hidden Nazi gold and conducted an interview with legendary singer Carole King. So in a half-hour sitting, I got an update on the 2008 Presidential Election, heard about a story I wouldn’t have found anywhere else, and heard one of my favorite singers. It really doesn’t get much better.

Both shows are slowly becoming a force in the news media. In fact, in 2004, Sen. John Edwards announced his candidacy for president on The Daily Show. Stewart responded by saying, “I have to warn you we are a fake show, so you might have to do this again somewhere.”

Colbert and Stewart have been active this election cycle, as well. In fact, Colbert holds “the Colbert bump” (the popularity boost his guests receive after appearing on his show) responsible for Mike Huckabee’s unlikely rise in popularity. But presidential candidates aren’t the only ones appearing on these shows. Writers, senators and fellow members of the media all give regular interviews. Just last week, former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers attempted to explain to Colbert why women should rule the world.

So why do I watch these shows? They’re informative; at the end of the show I have genuinely learned something, normally during the interview. They’re also funny, and at the end of the day I could use a good laugh. It’s easy to get caught up in this world, and Stewart and Colbert remind me to laugh at life’s little absurdities.