I think the issue is that that doesn’t really prepare you to vote on national or often even statewide issues.

Yes it does, as much or more as spending whole day in a reddit/blogosphere bubble of like minded individuals with the same interests does.

Having interacted with many people who don’t engage with any kind of political media, this isn’t true. It’s very difficult to have any clue what to vote for or why when you have no information; these people end up going off vibes. Spending all day listening to choir preaching may still diffuse useful information about current issues into you by accident.