Do you read newspapers every day? Do you like to read newspapers? When I interviewed some students from Saint Louis University, most of students said no. Why do so few students read newspapers? Some interviewers told me that they prefer to read novels, magazines, books, Twitters, and Facebook news instead of reading newspapers. Some students said they did not have enough time to read a whole newspaper. In addition, some students even said that they did not like to spend money on purchasing newspapers. Also, some students thought newspapers which made from woods are waste of paper and harmful to the environment.
The main reasons why so few students read newspapers are because most students have many other resources to get information, they do not like to harm to the environment, they do not have enough time and they think the cost of newspapers are expensive. One of the main causes why so few students read newspapers are that most students prefer to read other resources than the newspaper. On one hand, the articles in the newspaper might not interest many students. Newspapers always report some current events, policy news which is not very closely related to students’ levies and they might not interest in these kinds of topics.
The style of newspapers’ articles are always serious, concise and not amusing. Most students prefer to read novels, magazines and books which are more interesting to them (Goodbye Newspaper). On the other hand, some students think that reading newspapers are too old school.
They prefer to read some online resources, such as Twitter and Facebook news. For example, many of my friends, including me, we use our cellphones during breakfast. I like to scan the news on my Facebook and Twitter. On my phone, these news are always terse, short and clear; therefore, I can get information quickly. However, the news written down in the newspapers always have long paragraphs. If I try to read the newspaper during breakfast, it will take a lot of time. In addition, online news is more convenient. Students can read online news everywhere and at anytime.
However, if they read the newspaper, it is a little bit complicated. They have to find a newsstand to buy one, take it with them and find a place to sit and read. Another main cause that why so few students read newspapers is that some students are care for the environmental issue. Since newspapers are made from wood, many trees are cut down to made newspapers, this is harmful to environment. Lv, a junior student of Saint Louis University, said she does not read newspaper because she wants to protect the environment. The more students who read newspapers, the more quantity of newspapers will be required, which means the more trees need to be cut under this circumstances.
Trees combat the global warming effects, they clear the air, save water, provide oxygen and help prevent soil erosion (Tree People). “Trees have many benefits to humans, if we cut them in order to make newspaper, it will be a huge mistake. The more people do not purchase newspaper, the fewer trees will be cut”, Lv emotionally said that. Thus, she thought not reading newspapers benefits and protect the environment. “Online news will be better, it does not waste of paper”, she emphasized.
Time issue will be serious to result so few students read newspaper. College students always too busy with their daily schedule, they have a lot of homework to do; therefore, they do not have enough time to finish the whole newspaper. Zhou, a junior student of Saint Louis University, said he had to read many academic books and write book analyzes every semester.
Thus, he did not want to spend time on reading newspaper. In order to know what happened in the world, he likes to read short online reports which can quickly get information. In addition, he said he can read online news by cellphone or laptop when he is in line. But if he read newspaper in line, he said “it will be weird”. Thus, he has to find a place to sit and read the newspaper.
However, he said he did not have enough time to do that every day, “I want to know what are the current events every day, but I have a lot of things to do, such as taking classes, writing papers, doing homework, doing sports and hanging out with friends. I do not want to sit there and read newspaper alone”. Otherwise, some students are not willing to spend their time on reading newspaper, there are too many things can divide students’ attention. For example, they prefer to talk with friends to get information instead of reading newspaper alone. They also prefer use time to play video games, watch TV plays or movie, do sports and hang out with their friends when they are free.
These reasons can tell why students do not have time to read newspaper. Besides, the cost of newspaper is a cause why so few student many newspapers cost fifty cents or one dollar to buy it, but students can read online news for free. Thus, some students are not willing to paying extra money to buy newspapers. Although some students think one dollar is not a large number of money, it will be 365 dollars a year which we can use it to make a different to someone who need help. In conclusion, as modern social medias develop faster, just few students read newspaper. Many students use internet to search information and they think buy newspapers every day is such a money waste. In order to protect the environment and save forest resources, some students rejected to read newspaper.
In addition, science develop very fast in recent society, students need to know information in time. Sometimes, the news written down in the newspaper are not new enough; thus, many students prefer to search news online which can get the newest news immediately and save times. In the future, as the fast society development, the number of students read newspaper might be fewer.
Work Cited
- “Top 22 Benefits of Trees.” Tree People. Web. 7 April. 2013
- Shapiro, Alan. “Goodbye Newspaper.” Teachable Moment. Web. 7 April. 2013
- Lv,Yawei. Personal interview. 26 March. 2013.
- Zhou, Yang. Personal interview. 26 March. 2013.
