by: Mary Lourdes Pangilinan
Another type of Entertainment Media are the Newspapers, Magazines and etc., in short, Print Media. The print media, the most primitive type of media. Reading is also a form of entertainment, because it a great time consumer for our past-time.
Below are some examples of print media that offers entertainment for the audience:
Newspaper. It is commonly read by the elderly people because back then, it was one of their entertainment sources when advancement in technology didn’t yet occurred. You can always catch them in front of their houses holding a cup of coffee and a newspaper on the other hand. However, contents of these are also now available on the internet making it compatible for us to use. In my opinion, generations nowadays isn’t really that interested on watching and reading news nowadays, except if it is a requirement for a certain subject, based on my own experience. By reading newspapers we can obtain knowledge and awareness on the events and happenings occur around us and around the world. It informs us especially on emergency cases like, war, bombing, typhoon, earthquake and health-related outbreak. And we, as a sensible citizens of this country must act upon on those said events. Additionally, except from events, there are different parts of a newspaper that we can read base on our interests. For example, the entertainment section wherein it exhibits the latest release of movies and latest news about celebrities.
Magazines. We buy magazines based on what caught our attention and interest. It contains contents of various topics, it is up to us on what we should choose, for as I mentioned earlier we buy it based on our interests. For example, for those people who loves to exercise they must buy the fitness related magazines, and for those who loves music they should buy the music related magazines, for it will give you latest updates of the music industry. Unfortunately, from what I’ve noticed, most people rarely consider owning magazines nowadays, I can mostly only see them on salons and waiting areas. I think this happens because we can now search the contents we need on the internet, and compared to magazines it is costly than searching it.
Novels. It can be classified as fiction or non-fiction. Novels can bring us into a whole new world as if we are the one who’s experiencing the story, making our imagination active. It can also teach us about life lessons that we can use in our daily lives, it also possess facts about history, science and etc. and we can attain English proficiency if we are always reading books or novels. As for me, I am not really the type who read novels a lot but I think my favorite are the works of Rick Riordan. His mythological- themed novels are really good. On the other hand, novels are now also available online. Specifically, the app—Wattpad. It is a popular app wherein you can read stories for free by online authors. It is a good thing because it engages people to read because there are a variety of stories available. However, it is not a proficient one because it does not undergo proof-reading, which is a requirement in order to publish a book. Additionally, writers on wattpad aren’t professional writers, thus, making it as an unreliable ground for learning grammar and vocabularies.
Reading brings us many benefits, like improving our vocabulary, and exercising our muscle memory, thus, making our brain cells active. However, in this generation people are choosing to play mobile or online games rather than reading. Which I think is something to worry about. Especially, because the repercussion of this practice isn’t something to contribute for the betterment of our society. That’ why I think people, especially children must learn to regulate the use of applications and reading. As a student, I, like most of us do, also find reading boring sometimes. Primarily, when it is about academics. It results with me prioritizing games and social media apps. But, as I grow older I am starting to learn the essence of reading and its aftermath when it is accustomed in our life. Except form widening your knowledge on vocabulary, it can be also a source of life lessons, facts and inspiring stories. For this reason I conclude that we should all practice reading and start to promote them, especially for the younger generation.
While we are reading, we are entertained and at the same time learning new things. It is the reason why we must not let our interest on reading die. If you are doubting reading, think again.