Print Media vs Digital Media

Context:

• Until a few years ago, Print media (Ex: Newspapers, magazines) was the main source of news and entertainment. But now, Digital media (Ex:- Websites, Apps, Social media etc.) is giving a tough competition to Print media resulting in debates on whether print media is dying.

Print Media:

Advantages of Print Media:

• Print media is more trustworthy because once the news is published, it cannot be modified or deleted. Whereas in digital media, we can modify or delete the contents. So, those who run the newspapers and magazines will be extra careful while publishing the news or articles. Hence Print media is more trustworthy than digital media.
• Following Print media can save a lot of time because all the content is compiled in a newspaper or magazine.
• These days, studies and work involve screen time for many. So, print media is like a break and relief. Moreover, at present more and more people are opting for Digital Detox time. Print media is super useful for them.
• When we read newspapers, there will be no distractions and hence we can totally focus on it. This is an advantage of print media over digital media, which can distract us a lot with its various options and clickable advertisements.
• Still, some remote areas in India have limited access to the internet. Print media is a blessing for them to know the latest happenings around the world.
• Several online news websites are bringing their print versions to reach more consumers and to establish credibility. This makes us realize the importance of print media.

Disadvantages of Print Media:

• Print media is just one-way communication. It gives information to the public, but consumers cannot share their opinions. Even though some newspapers publish readers’ mails, it is not user-friendly.
• To search for articles on a piece of particular news in the newspapers or magazines archives is a very difficult task.
• Print media cannot target a specific audience, whereas digital media can show different ads to a different type of audience and thereby can generate more revenue.
• Print media is not helpful for some people with disabilities, whereas digital media has accessibility options in general. For example, digital media helps people with visual impairment by providing audio versions of the content.

Digital Media:

Advantages of Digital Media:

• Digital media gives fast updates and enables us to be aware of the latest happenings, whereas with print media we have to wait till the next day. This makes it easy to spread important news among the public.
• Digital media is two-way communication. Consumers can share their opinions, thoughts and feedback in an instant. This can also give consumers a sense of community.
• It is Eco-friendly, whereas print media requires paper that is harvested from trees.
• The famous newspapers are also establishing their own online news portals. This is because of the growing importance of digital media.
• We can search for a piece of information easily in digital media.
• Small companies can easily advertise on digital media platforms because it is less expensive than advertising on print media.
• Digital media platforms can generate revenue from old contents too. So, they will get more revenue and hence can invest more in the quality of the content.
• Digital media is democratic unlike print media, which is often run by big businesses.
• Smartphone users are increasing rapidly, and so many digital media platforms are offering content for free due to advertisements. So, people can easily read and watch content without spending much.

Disadvantages of Digital Media:

• As anyone can easily generate content for digital media, fake news is on the rise. As a result, unless they are famous and have a good name, digital media platforms are not being trusted by the public.
• Digital media platforms can track our interests and thereby can develop our personality profile.
• Print media publishes only important news. But digital media platforms publish every little thing, so they contain lots of unnecessary news.
• Staring at the screen for a long time results in health problems.
• Many digital media publishes content throughout the day. So, people can check for new content always. Many people are getting addicted to news and entertainment content. This is causing ‘Headline stress disorder‘ for many.

Conclusion:

Both Print and Digital media have their own advantages & disadvantages and have a solid userbase. However, if we consider the present trends, the consumers of Digital media are increasing at a rapid rate and the share of print media is slipping. But Print is not dying. In fact with increasing literacy rates, print is acquiring more users. So, we can say that Print and Digital media are co-existing quite happily.

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Your Turn…

What are your thoughts on Print Media vs Digital Media? Which media do you follow regularly? Express your thoughts through the comment section and subscribe to our blog to read answers to the trending GD topics.

References:

1. Print is still growing in India: Mediacom’s Stephen Allan

2. DIGITAL VS. PRINT MEDIA

3. Print vs. Digital

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