Picture this in your mind: a broke college sophomore student working five days a week while juggling responsibilities which consist of paying rent, gas, tuition, books, and other miscellaneous (but necessary) bills, going to school full-time, and taking care of herself. When she gets home from work at 10pm, do you think she'll have the energy (or interest) to stop by the newsstands and pick up a magazine? Or will she just go straight home, take off her shoes, and snuggle on the couch to catch up on the latest gossip on her laptop at her favorite webzine?
The latter sounds more appealing, doesn't it? Well, it is. It's all about practicality, people. We're college students, we're broke and whenever we have money, we'd rather have our dough spent on something we really need, like shoes and gas; not on something we know we can get for free, like the latest issue of Seventeen.
Nowadays, we see print magazines leave the newsstands and dive into the online world (READ: Budget Savvy). Well, there are a lot of reasons why they leave the newsstands. For us readers, that's a big plus. But why do readers like me choose reading stuff online rather than feel the glossy pages of a magazine on our fingertips? I came up with three reasons why:
1. Mobility. Others would argue that a print copy of a magazine would be mobile too. But you can go online almost anywhere. With today's advanced technology, you can now bring your iPhone with you to the bathroom and check what's up with the latest fashion while doing your business.
2. Cheaper (if not FREE). For college students like me, the words "free" and "cheap" call out to me. I'm all about saving my benjamins or spending none at all. Checking out Slate Magazine doesn't cost me anything at all if I check it at school or a public library. Subscribing to print magazines cost me money but subscribing to online editions of print magazines cost me zero dollars. So which would I choose? Free or not free? I think you know my answer. Why would I spend money on a magazine when I can get the exact same content (plus maybe more) for free?
3. Accessible. A magazine locally based in NYC distributes only to newsstands within the state of New York. People who live in Washington who would want to subscribe to that magazine would have to pay extra for shipping. What if people in Paris want to read that magazine? That would cost A LOT. But if the magazine was online, it would cost them nothing, right? Except maybe for the internet connection and electricity and the computer they would use. But if you do some thinking, that would actually cost cheaper because you can use those for other things (like for the internet, you can do other stuff like check your email or buy stuff online and for the computer, you can do homework or play games, etc).
It's really a matter of choice whether or not the reader chooses to buy a print magazine or read stuff online. But for practical people like me, I choose reading online. What will you choose?
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