Friday, June 13, 2008

Which is better Print or Web media?


Besides television, there are two other ways of getting information today, through print or the Internet. Which is better? Many will argue that web is better. Why? Because we can get it faster. Sure, it's a time saver to turn on the computer and have anything you need just a click away. We demand faster Internet providers and user friendly services to make it easier for our use. I've even caught myself rolling my eyes and exhaling a big puff of air because the computer was taking 2 seconds longer than I wanted to wait. Then I realized that the web has created an impatient audience. It's such a fast pace world, people simply do not have time to sit and wait for information to catch up to them. Many articles on the web are shorter than in print media. With shorter articles, the reader is less likely to get all the information behind the story and form a reasonable understanding of it. A guilty pleasure of mine is People magazine. I have a link to their website on my iGoogle page. It is always filled with short stories, about 200 words long, but doesn't give great details. I also read the magazine. A week later, when the new edition is released, I read the same news but with a more detail to paint a better picture. 

Print and web media offer two very different experiences. I do believe print media is better for numerous reasons. I find it a lot easier to read a paper or book than stare at a screen for a long period of time and strain my eyes. I have walked away from a computer many times with awful headaches. I don't understand how people that work on computers all day decide to go home and immediately turn one on there as well. What happened to the "good ol' days" of curling up with a good book or siting down and reading the news paper. Print media is geared towards people who have time to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. I see reading print as enjoyable. I believe print media offers so much more than web media. Because everything on the web is at a fast pace, it lacks the real connection with the audience. Holding a paper in the hands is much more engaging than clicking and scrolling back and forth. Wouldn't you rather hold a flower than click a picture of it? or hold a loved one instead of read about them in an email? Having something physical in your hands is more gratifying. So I say, put away the computers and pick up a paper, magazine, tabloid, pamphlet, book, ANYTHING and have a rewarding experience. 

1 Comments:

At June 17, 2008 at 10:00 PM , Blogger Lilly Buchwitz said...

Very interesting observations. Well done.

 

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