Biases behind Forms of Reading the Newspaper

     DVD or VHS. Compact Disc or Cassette tape. Digital or print version of the newspaper. Which one is not like the other?  When it comes to reading the newspaper asking which format is better is the wrong question to ask. While the content is the same, unlike cds, or dvds, the way the content looks is not, and thus we choose which format we prefer based on unidentified biases. But how do the different forms of reading the newspaper fulfill the standards set by our personal biases?

     The main biases that I will discuss are learning styles, the generational gap, and the desire to fit in and/or look superior to others.

Learning styles 

    There are three different learning styles or preferences commonly defined by educators.  The first is visual and describes those learners who use graphs, pictures, and texts to utilize visual depictions of information. The next is auditory, those who retain information through hearing and speaking, and the last is Kinesthetic, those who prefer a hands on approach to learning. It is important to understand this for it explains why there has been a shift away from reading the newspaper in print.

     The print form alone contains only words and pictures. It would make sense therefore that visual learners would prefer this medium but what about the auditory and kinesthetic learners? This is where the digital format of newspapers comes into play, which give readers the chance to click on links that open videos, recordings, and sites that cater to not only one type of learner.

      A recent study conducted at The University of Texas at Austin looked at the relationship between the learning strategies and learning styles in a hypermedia environment. Sixty three college students participated and were studied as they choose “different types of media, tools, and learning aids… Results from the study suggested that different learning style groups employed different learning strategies in accomplishing the same task. The results of the study indicated that the hypermedia technology has the potential to accommodate learners with different needs through its rich environment. “While the format may be different, understanding the content in a newspaper is the end goal, and having the choice between the print and digital copies only un-isolates two types of learners. In this light having the digital format is not a substitution for the print form but an option for different learning preferences.

     When the digital form of newspapers first came out young readers who were previously turned off by their learning preferences discovered the newspaper for the first time. Thus increasing consumption of newspapers. Researchers mistook this to mean that readers in general preferred the digital format, led by the youth, and assumed youth consumption of the digital format to increase. It has not because youth only first preferred the digital because youth today are brought up not in one learning style but are encouraged to learn in a variety of ways.

     As the Texas study suggests the more tools given, the more tools used. Older generations however did not understand why a new form would be necessary for they are used to being taught in only one learning style. As they are experimenting with the digital formats it only makes sense that they are the age group with increased interest in the digital formats. This could explain why older consumers (over the age of 24) account for the largest percentage increase in the use of social media. ( This important to note for it recognizes that people choose the different formats to fulfill different needs (ie learning prefernces), one is not better then the other.

Generation Gap

     The generation gap further explains the biases dividing readers print or digital. Before teachers were the guardians of the knowledge. Now they are the conductors almost, teaching kids skills on how to analyze and interpret information not so much teaching the information itself. Before, our parents paid for college for access to resources aka teachers. This is different, now we pay for learning skills not material. (Link alchemi.co)

     The older generations prefer print because they are in the mindset of credibility and convenience in a different light. They are used to only getting credible news from the newspaper and shows like CNN ect not blogs or the internet. As they paid for college for the credibility, i.e. different reasons then why we go, they pay for the print version out of habit and because they don’t see what the online version can do that is more special/worth the hassle of dealing with the online format (convenience).

     Younger generations simply have a different point of view based on new learning styles for digital enviornments. They see to see the digital form in terms of convenience and credibility but their standards are different. To a teen opening a separate window that will hold ones spot is more convenient then a dog-eared page. Instead of having to look up something later double clicking it on ones laptop to define it is more convenient. Teens these days are being brought up with learning the skills of having to collectively seek info and being able to click on embedded links leading to primary sources is really attractive and both more credible and convenient then the print form. (Or old fashion highlighting)

There in this way is no debate on print vs. digital, for both audiences are arguing preferences based on their own interpretation of the same two arguments: credibility and convenience. Instead newspapers need to evolve to the updated way of thinking, without isolating other views.

How it looks

     By asking which form is better means that one form will automatically be inferior. By giving people these options people get to choose the superior type of reading. People may choose digital in this sense or print for what it could say about them, not their reading preferences at all.  

      One article in the New York Times Called “Mind Games; Sometimes a white Coat isn’t just a white coat” describes a study conducted at Northwestern University about embodied cognition.“The experience of washing your hands is associated with moral purity and ethical judgments. People rate others personally warmer if they hold a hot drink in their hand, and colder if they hold an iced drink. If you wear a white coat that you believe belongs to a doctor, your ability to pay attention increases sharply. But if you wear the same white coat believing it belongs to a painter, you will show no such improvement.” How is the same not true for reading forms of the newspaper?

     If one believes that new technology makes one look smarter then why not choose that option? Subconscious biases are in this way just as influential in choosing newspaper aa newspaper form.

Conclusion

     Instead of debating Print or Digital when talking about forms of reading the newspaper we should open the discussion to addressing the biases that make us choose in the first place. Evaluating these biases in this way could lead to the “miracle drug” of newspapers, fulfilling multiple biases at one time.