There was a time when people couldn’t
kick their day off without reading the
newspaper. There were people who waited
impatiently for the newspaper, early in the
morning. Family members argued over who
would read the paper first. Not only did
everyone read the newspaper, but they also
held interesting discussions with their family
members, colleagues and friends over
the news of the day. The newspaper was
considered the best source of information,
to know about what was happening in the
world. However, the situation seems to
have begun to change among youngsters
these days. With smartphones in hand and
access to the pages of almost all news
houses online, the younger population
is relying increasingly on digital media to
acquire news. Youngsters read news on
social media, post their feedback then and
there, and also discuss issues not only with
their friends, but strangers from across
continents, over these social networking
sites. With news so easily and instantly
available to them, they hardly feel the need
to wait for the newspaper in the morning.
So, does social media have the potential to
replace the newspaper in the time to come?
A management student, Anuja Joshi
feels that easy accessibility and immediate
updates are some of the things that make
youngsters prefer reading news on the
internet. “Social media can be accessed
within a few seconds as most of us own
smartphones. Getting the news on social
media helps. Nowadays most of us are
hardly at home, so we can’t get updated
with the latest news via television news
channels. So we rely on Facebook and
Twitter,” she expresses.
Gaurish Paranjape, a student says,
“Reading the newspaper is like a routine
activity, for someone like me, who has
the habit reading it from childhood. I
will always want to read a newspaper
every morning, even if I have read the
same news on social media, earlier.” He,
however admits that one cannot deny
the innumerable benefits of getting your
daily dose of news on social media. “For
one thing, social media tries to give a
personalised experience to the users, even
when it comes to news. As a number of
related people or their pages are tagged
along with the news story, readers get
a chance to interact directly with the
people who have posted it. Also, the
news is presented in a better way on the
internet, as there are no constraints with
regard to the size of the story, or the
number of pictures, unlike newspapers,”
he adds. Also, according to him, most
newspapers usually focus on regional
news only, but on the internet, one can
read about things happening in different
parts of the world, small or large. “Hardly
anybody has the time and patience today
to meet up frequently and talk about
political and social issues. The ability to
hold discussions with your friends about
what’s happening around on social media
platforms, comment on any news, and
react to what others have to say about it
has surely turned our smartphones into
modern day tintos,” explains Gaurish.
Aniruddha Bhaje, a medical
representative, gives an interesting insight
into why he prefers reading news online
and not on newspapers. “Not reading
newspapers is one of the eco-friendly
activities that I carry out. I think avoiding
newspapers will help reduce the use
of paper. It’s one of the ways to help
environment,” he opines. Aniruddha operates
two Facebook accounts, one is for him to
socialise, while the other is maintained for
the sole purpose of reading news.
From Anuja’s viewpoint, social media
is also becoming a hub for people to
give feedback as it’s the most convenient
way to do so, today. “Social media has
become the most widely accepted
platform for people to share opinions.
One cannot really write a letter or mail to
the concerned person to convey his or her
opinion about the latest happenings, every
time! However, through social media our
opinion is not only seen by the concerned
authority, but by other people as well. It
makes a greater impact,” she maintains.
We can say that though youngsters
have not totally given up on newspapers,
they are surely looking at other options
too. With the rise of globalisation and
youngsters seeking for a lot more than
what a newspaper offers, social media
is all set to give tough competition to
newspapers, in the near future.
