When I start to think about newspapers I immediately get that image in my head of the grandparents out on the lawn chairs on a Sunday afternoon drinking lemonade, enjoying the Florida summer sun, and reading the Sunday paper. This image isn’t something I tend to think about in line with today’s world. Today’s world feels busier. There’s more hustle and bustle with this idea that everything has to happen now. I think this has to do with the fact that our world is demanding, wanting everything the instant they want it, because of our social media outlets and easy access to the internet.
My household used to get a paper up until I was about twelve years old I think. That was over eight years ago. To this day my dad will ask “Do you miss your paper?” in a joking accent. It is really he who misses the Sunday paper. He is one of the few who would still want to have his paper delivered to him every Sunday. We used to get the Orlando Sentinel, but my dad doesn’t see the use anymore in buying a physical subscription when he can go to the online site for the Orlando Sentinel and read articles there.
This aspect of getting news instantly and the idea of getting something for free that previously cost something I think are the main reasons behind why we don’t see newspapers in the vast amounts that we did during our childhoods. It makes perfect sense: why would I wait to read something that I can just look up right now or why would I pay for something I could actually get for free? I wouldn’t do either of those things.
Now when my dad ask’s “Do you miss your paper?” I tell him “No, but if you miss it that bad just go to the online one and read it or turn on the news on TV.” With other outlets having an easier access than traditional hardcopy newspaper, I think the traditional newspaper will one day become extinct.