It’s been widely-recognized that, with the advent of the internet, newspapers are largely a thing of the past. I must confess, though, that I never enjoyed reading newspapers. And I never really understood why. I fairly enjoy reading so it can’t have been the reading involved. I don’t think my laziness has gone to such an extreme that the necessary effort of lifting the paper up has led me to give up on reading newspapers entirely (in fact, I enjoy reading actual books more than ebooks, even when the former entails the physical strain of lifting the book). I also don’t think it’s because I want to avoid the often tragic nature of news (trust me, I’m not that melodramatic when it comes to real life; I need a soundtrack and good editing or a really well-described scene to get me to really pour my eyes out; in short, I’m usually only human when it comes to fiction). So, after much thought, I blamed it on my political apathy (on a side note, some of my friends say it’s ironic that I’m politically apathetic when I’m studying to become a lawyer; but I don’t think it’s that weird, really, ‘cause they’re really two different things; politics is about what the law should be while being a lawyer is about what the law is; besides, I’m not politically apathetic for the sake of being politically apathetic; it’s just the way I am, although, I do enjoy the fact that I am politically apathetic). Anyway, so I blame my distaste for newspapers on the often political nature of news. Still, I tried to read newspapers as I grew older (most probably because it seemed like a grown-up thing to do; it seemed like a rite-of-passage into adulthood of sorts; and also because it seems like a really fun breakfast routine in movies). But I never really got hooked into the habit of reading newspapers.
Thank God for the internet. Now, I spend hours on the net (in addition to social networking) to catch up on news. And, the funny thing was, I enjoyed reading news on the net. So I’ve decided that my political apathy isn’t really the reason for my preference for ignorance. On hindsight, I think the reason I never enjoyed reading newspapers is that articles were not outlined and organized in such a way that you would easily be able to see what they are all about. Thus, you’d have to read through so much before you would get to read about something you were really interested about. This is in sharp contrast with sites which offer news, where the articles are outlined; from there, you can choose to read the articles which you’re apparently interested in by simply clicking on the hyperlink. So, I guess, the real reason has more to do with the “laziness” reason rather than the “politically apathetic” reason. It’s sad but, at least, it’s not as shallow as the actual “laziness” reason specified above (although it is quite far from the pretentious profoundness of the “politically apathetic” reason). Shallowness of my reason aside, again, I’d like to thank God for the internet: it has kept lazy people like me from complete ignorance. And I think that those who remain ignorant in this internet age are unfathomably lazy or choose to be so (which is also profound in its own way, I guess). Either way, they only have themselves to blame or thank.
Aldous Benjamin Camiso, Blog Entry #6.
Image Source: http://www.breakingthenewnews.com/blog/tag/san-francisco-chronicle
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