INTERNET, NEWS AND GENERATIONAL TENDENCY

After a recent research of the use of newspaper in print or in digital version, I found that, predictably, the majority of the people who read the news on the Net are younger than 50. This result is obviously related to the generational change. The new generation is growing up in a technological era, where every form of information is possible to find on the Internet. The youth of today have learned to use computers and other devices as easily as they have learned to use a pen and to write. The babies of today – the youth of tomorrow – are becoming computer literate almost before learning to speak. Generation X and especially the baby boomers have had to approach computers later on in their life. This provokes certain reluctance on their part towards any form of technology. It is similar to when a person begins to read books in childhood or in adult age. In the second case it is quite hard, especially if reading books is regarded as a chore or boring. The use of technologies requires some skill; therefore, some people tend to avoid them. Consequently, these people prefer to rely on paper as their preferred source.

Yet, taking part to a discussion about the future of the newspaper, I was surprised to witness an opposite generational tendency. A young girl was worried about the credibility of the Internet, where anyone can participate at the creation of information. Her point of view was that if the newspaper die, we are going to lose a type of journalism that we can trust. A mature woman stepped in saying that the Internet makes checking the data easier; therefore, we shouldn’t be worried. The young girl insisted: “How can we know that some information that is not in the form of data, is true?” she asked. “Use trustful websites” someone suggested. However, she was still perplexed.

There is still something about the Internet that cannot convince the general public entirely about its reliability and trustworthiness. The Newspaper, the print version, for me remains irreplaceable. Why does everything have to end up in a digital form? I feel annoying using the computer or a smartphone to read the news. Internet for me is correlated to fast reading. I feel that reading the news is not only a ‘must to do thing’, but it is also a pleasure that we concede to ourselves in our spare time. If in my spare time I had to read in front of a screen, this wouldn’t be a pleasure anymore. So folk, if you are like that girl and me, let’s buy newspaper and save their life, please!