YOUNG PEOPLE STILL READ PRINT MAGAZINES

These days everyone talks about how smartphones and tablets are replacing printed materials. It may be true in general but there is one thing that still survives: magazines.

Most people think that these days only older people read magazines. The reality is different though. In fact, the 2014 Magazine Media Factbook showed exactly the opposite: 91% of American adults read magazine media, and that number increases to 94% for adults under 35 and 96% for adults under 25.

These young adults aren’t just picking up magazines whenever they see one. They have their preferences. The average person aged 18-25 read more than ten issues every month. You may think that they are mostly working professionals but they are not. 90% of college students read at least one magazine every month, and they usually visit websites they see in magazines and pass magazines along to their friends.

Magazines are also a wonderful way to encourage children and young adults to read. While some children don’t choose to read books for pleasure, they may pick up a magazine. Magazines may be the first positive reading experience for some children. The short articles are often easy-to-read and they have lots of illustrations to attract readers. They provide short, understandable information for them.

There are many reasons why children and adults love magazines. First of all they are visual. A magazine would have more pictures and illustrations than a book. Magazines can be read on the bus, at a crowded café and even when you are talking to someone on the phone. Everyone can find a magazine of his / her own interest as there are more than thousands of different magazines. According to Alliance for Audited Media In 1980, there were 2,000 magazines, but now, there are 12,000. “You think of an interest and there’s a magazine for it,” says one reader, pointing out there are magazines dedicated to dogs or even to knitting. Those magazines can survive because people are willing to pay for them.