ARE ADULTS REALLY READING NEWS?  (4/6/15)

     "If you can get 1% of the population vaguely interested in something nowadays, that’s huge," said Tim Wu of The New Yorker.  Wu wrote an article for the magazine called 'Doesn't Anyone Read the News?'.

     In the 2014 'State of News Media' survey by the Pew Research Group, more than half of Facebook users got their news from other people.  Sadly, the study found that most users on that sight did not engage with many news sites at all.

     According to experts at Microsoft Research, people aren't using the traditional 'front page' methods anymore to get their news online.  "...the authors defined an active news customer as someone who read at least ten substantive news articles and two opinion pieces in a 3-month period," said Wu. 

     The numbers are overwhelming, and the opinions are still out on what people are actually reading.  Out of 1.2 million people in the survey, just over 4% were 'active news customers' with 96% reading other stuff on the web.

     Studies from Pew, Microsoft and other research firms suggest that we aren't getting the full story, anyway; not like we used to get from a newspaper, magazine or 'the media long-form'.  

     Let's say you read alone at the computer all day.  You might visit 15-20 different websites in one sitting.  Suddenly everything you wanted to know about those topics or subjects was so readily available you were convinced the computer could read your mind?

     No, those pesky websites are making-use of algorithms to selectively choose the things it assumes you want to read (and collectively, this brings in a lot for advertising, somewhere).  All the differing articles and opinions are often chucked to the wayside, just for your experience.

     These 'filter bubbles' can cause the user to have less and less contact with contracting viewpoints.  This is what experts call Intellectual Isolation.

     Balanced news online has been skewed by the process. A majority of Americans have gotten so depressed they have stopped reading news. 

     But the Human sense of curiosity and 'need to be the first to know' remains, and millions have flocked to services where they can watch or share a video before their friends have seen it.

     Author Tim Wu saw a disturbing side to the study, in the number of Internet readers who were 'un-involved' .  "The number may also help us understand," said Wu "...why a relatively small number of motivated people can have such a significant effect on American politics and policy."

   Wu describes the most important filter bubble, (people who) ignore everything.  "It’s the bubble filled with people who, so long as the country remains basically stable, pay no attention to partisan politics."

     For 25 years at Hometown News Atlanta, we have filled our community newspapers with positive, uplifting news about places and people that are important to you. We stick to the stories that need to be told in our Atlanta communities.

Your opinion matters, and we go where our readers invite us.  Thank you for being a part of our readership, and thanks for spreading the word about our newspapers!

     Did you know our papers are also located online?  And as an incentive to our advertisers, we always include their information online at no charge. Just go to Hometown News Atlanta online.

--Ray Macon