People Find Internet News Less Boring Than Television News

According to the Pew Research Center the internet has surpassed television as a main news source for younger audiences. What’s this? The good ole American Television set is being forgone for some new-fangled contraption containing interwebs? Once the shock wears off let’s get real about this.

Is it really that hard to imagine a younger generation would prefer scrolling over stories that don’t matter to them instead of hearing every single story (relevant or otherwise) being delivered to them by news anchors who wear more make-up than circus clowns? Seriously, the only other industry where that amount of make up on men and women is acceptable is the prostitution racket, and you don’t go to them for nightly economic updates!

It’s not surprising that internet killed the TV star (c’mon Buggles, this is an epic Video Killed the Radio Star sequel just waiting to happen). News aside, people are turning to the internet to watch movies, TV shows, and videos.

Online dating and online education are on the rise, as well. Instead of going to bars or going to classes people are setting up profiles and taking courses online, and more importantly, they are meeting success when they do so.

Why the shift? Internet critics are always talking about how disconnecting going online is as opposed to doing these things in person. I’m sorry, but clearly those critics have never tried applying for financial aid in person. It’s like colleges hire the most incompetent and talkative people they can find to man the FAFSA desk. Bonus points of they’re really old, never used a computer before, and/or like to tell you all about their daughter’s baby daddy’s cousin who just got arrested. The internet only really disconnects you from the people you never wanted to be connected with in the first place.

The positive thing to notice about this change in mediums is that it’s not just one thing that’s shifting toward an internet-focus. It seems like everything is going that way. We start so young with technology that using the internet becomes a second-nature skill; as a kid you play video games, then you’re introduced to Facebook and Twitter as a teenager, which brings you to college where you have the option to take your classes online, and then land a job where internet-use is an important part of it.

I don’t know if even Walter Cronkite could save televised news broadcasts in the long run. But for now people still have the option to choose how they want to find out what’s going on in the world.