The NEW YOUNG TIMES When was the last time
you picked up a newspaper? Perhaps you reused it as fire-starter, gift wrap or you read the colour comics at the back. I bet it’s been a long time, if ever, that you’ve read a physical newspaper from start to finish. According to Business Insider, 64 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds consume news online — which includes social media. The younger generations no longer receive news from traditional channels, and the concern is that could mean they’re not engaging with what’s happening in the rest of the world. The early 2000s saw print newspaper readership decrease by about 10 per cent each year until the rise of digital devices, which allowed for mobile content. Statistics Canada figures show that between 2014 and 2016, the operating revenue of newspapers decreased by 19.8 per cent, advertising sales fell 21.8 per cent, and circulation decreased by 10 per cent. Since you can access almost anything online now, the demand for print news is decreasing sharply. That doesn’t necessarily mean people are less in the know about global news stories. When Dr. Kym Stewart — a communications instructor at Capilano University — asks her 20-year-old daughter where she reads the news, Tayme replies, “I don’t have time, I’m studying for midterms!” Tayme mostly uses Facebook for school projects, but comes across news stories there. Stewart respects her daughter’s willingness to say, “I don’t know what the hell is going on; can someone explain this to me?” They use these channels as a starting point to proceed with their own research on topics using more credible sources. Stewart trusts that if Tayme “wanted to understand an
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A TECH-SAVVY GENERATION IS CHANGING THE GAME FOR TRADITIONAL NEWS OUTLETS. THEY MAY BE HARDER TO REACH, BUT IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE NOT LISTENING. story by BRETT YOUNG
event she could do the footwork needed — she doesn’t believe all she sees or hears.” Years of yelling at the TV and ranting about misrepresentation has taught her daughter to use a skeptical lens when consuming media. Stewart believes history was written at a specific time by important people (of that time), but “there were a lot of voices missing, so maybe if young people are investigating [those stories], they might investigate in a different way to hear those marginalized voices and actually get a better understanding about what’s going on.” The positive aspect of this is the ability to debunk old myths, challenge the misconception that “everything in history is true,” and find different viewpoints in a way that may enrich our understanding of a story. Stewart is hopeful that her daughter is “worldly in other ways… although maybe not geographically.” She sees a sense of wonder and confidence in Tayme, and her ability to
piece together the history and world challenges of today. Once we outgrow the hype of social media, we crave real stories told by real people. A 2015 study called the Media Insight Project (a collaboration between the American Press Institute and the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs) showed that “69 per cent of millennials get news at least once a day” and 47 per cent of millennials use Facebook to do so. Rather than going directly to news outlets, younger generations are retrieving “news and information [that is] woven into an often continuous but mindful way… to connect to the world generally, which mixes news with social connection, problem- solving, social action and entertainment.” A source from that project, 25-year-old Elese, states that “social media keeps me more informed than I could be with the other forms of news… By quickly scrolling through my feed, I can see the major stories going on. If I need to read deeper into it, I can go to a credible sources website.” A typical routine for most university students encompasses a tight class schedule sandwiched with full-time work. It’s no wonder during their downtime that students rely heavily on bubble-gum content, mindless music or entertainment produced to appeal to the masses. Stewart mentions that student life is a bubble, too. As a professor, she knows how much heavy content is thrown at students everyday and understands how social media is used as an escape. Dr. Ilona Jerabek, president of PsychTests AIM Inc., a human resources consulting firm based in Montreal, emphasizes that youth constantly “dealing with stressful situations by
