Why Do Millennials Not Read Newspapers?

The radio was an important fixture in my grandfather’s life. When he returned from London after qualifying as a doctor, he bought back a radio for my grandma. She acknowledged the gift by crafting an elaborately embroidered cover for the radio. For all practical purposes, it was my grandfather’s radio.He was the most faithful listener All India Radio has ever had. He would switch on the radio in the morning and listen to the news broadcasts in Hindi and English. Then he would tune in to the news in Bengali. As if on cue after this the newspaper vendor would ring the cycle bell and throw two rolls of newspapers that landed like missiles on our doorstep. The news in Sanskrit would start as he settled down to read the newspapers. In the evening he would sit on his rocking chair and listen to the news one last time before he slept off.For him, listening to the news was an active process. He would stop everything else, sit down on a chair, look at the radio and solemnly hear the news. He had experienced the horrors of the partition. He did not want to be caught unawares ever again.When I was growing up, the radio had already lost its status as the prime provider of news. Dad would read the newspaper while my mother listened to the songs played on Vividh Bharati. The newspaper was not just about news and analysis; it was also used as a benchmark on how to use the English language. Baba would say, “When you read the newspaper, make sure you have a dictionary handy to look up the meanings of all the words that you do not understand.” The radio joined us on the dinner table with the news at nine o’clock at night.The radio was used largely for entertainment – until the television killed the radio. Our black and white TV was placed in the drawing room while the radio stayed in the bedroom. The radio was like a member of the family and was allowed in. We were not yet comfortable inviting the television into the bedroom. The black and white television became color television and moved on to confuse us with five hundred channels that the cable television operators offered. The radio stayed on forgotten and when it needed to be repaired, it irritated me. It was expected to age gracefully and quietly die.Then the internet happened. I now no longer have a radio at home. I listen to it in my car when I drive to work. The television is now the prime source of entertainment. The newspaper is treated a lot more casually. When we go on vacations, we stop reading the newspaper. I still enjoy reading the papers on Sundays. On the other days, the newspaper is a graveyard. It carries news that is old and dead. Breaking news is what I get on Twitter. The twenty-something people are not reading newspapers any more. If it is not breaking news, we are happy living in the world of status updates.Everyone is a producer of news – about themselves. We no longer have time to read beyond the headlines. We are not about depth any more. News on television competes with reality shows and guess who wins. A friend’s status update competes with events unfolding in the world outside. My attention span has become shorter. The newspaper is just a victim.-----------Join me on Twitter @AbhijitBhaduriMy take: The forgotten art of conversations