Seniors Online

Our niece lamented that their big city daily newspaper is now delivered only three days a week. One of my longtime newsweeklies is now monthly. Uft da. Yesterday I read in our daily newspaper (still 7 days per week) that it was saying farewell to 14 employees who had a total cumulation of 420 years of service with the newspaper. True, some were near retirement but not all and some took buyouts. The printed page is in trouble (just ask publishers of books, magazines and newspapers).

Why? There seem to be several reasons: higher costs (paper, ink, wages, transportation); the present state of the economy makes newspapers an expendable luxury rather than a necessity; people are too busy to read newspapers and on and on.

However, a major contributor to the problem is the Internet. More adults are logging on to social networking sites and sites where the news is readily available. Remember the adage that if you read it, it's history; if you hear it, it's news? Radio, TV and the Internet are potentially more current than the daily newspaper, weekly or monthly publications. So?

Back to the Internet. Its the younger people who are making it their home. Some 35% of online adults have a profile on a social networking site. But 75% of youth 18-24 have such a profile compared to 7% of seniors 65 and over. People are forsaking the newspaper for the Internet except for now, the seniors.

My senior moment will arrive the day when I will not be able to read a daily newspaper, and a double senior moment will come when I will not be able to read a weekly or monthly printed publication. A triple will arrive when I will not be able to read at all. Uft da II.

I do enjoy the Internet. Without it Senior Moments wouldn't exist. Nor would Google, Facebook and a zillion other things. But there is something unique about the printed page. Until something better comes along, including the Internet, Email, IM, Facebook, Texting and Blackberries, let's hang on to our recliners and rocking chairs. And the newspaper.