You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
With the rise in popularity of the internet, newspapers will soon become a thing of the past. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1: (Agree)
In the contemporary world, an ethical and business competition between the digital and print media is quite visible. The future of print media in the digital era is a debatable issue. Though some people hold the opinion that the popularity of printed newspaper will exist in the forthcoming days, my two cents is this print news portal will soon disappear to make way for the digital way of getting news.
One obvious reason for my viewpoint is that online portals and e-newspapers are gaining vast acceptance by its sophisticated features such as clarity, video sharing, social sharing and instant opinion sharing tools. Over and above, public goes by online news portals than print versions in order to get instant and breaking news. The vast popularity of online editions of the newspapers is the best epitome. When an Internet user can browse virtually any newspaper in the world for free, why should he spend money on reading only a particular newspaper which does not have last hour breaking news?
Some would argue that there is a different appeal to holding a printed newspaper than reading on the computer screen. That’s true, but they should compare the old way of sending letters to the latest email technology. The number of emails people send on an average is million times higher than the traditional postal mails and in a similar fashion, reading a newspaper would become a tradition of the past while online news portals would dominate the world.
To draw the conclusion, the newspaper will soon get its place in history. We can expect many new trends in future not only in the case of the newspaper but also in other printed media and that is obvious with the widespread acceptance of technology and its popularity among the young generation.
[ Written by – Basil Pallath ]
Sample Answer 2: (Agree)
A typical day of a person starts with a newspaper. The newspaper was and still is an important part of a family. Due to the popularity of the internet, the newspaper followers have reduced significantly. It is controversial whether the newspaper will become a history or not. I believe the digital newspaper would replace the printed newspapers in the future.
Firstly, let us look at the advantages of using the printed newspapers over the e-newspapers. The feel of the paper will never be replaced by the internet. Moreover, the internet is expensive. A device and the internet connection is required to read the news on the internet. Whereas, for newspapers, someone just needs to buy a subscription. Another limitation on the internet is its coverage whereas newspapers can be used anywhere, for example, garden, beach or in the flight. The digital devices to read newspapers are harmful to the eyes as well.
Many people, on the contrary, would agree that the popularity of the e-newspaper is a proof that people are accepting it over printed versions. Digital newspapers are eco-friendly. For instance, the reduction of the newspapers would definitely lower the paper production. Ultimately fewer trees would be chopped down. Another advantage of e-paper is unlimited news access. For example, with the internet, anyone can get up-to-date news. The internet also provides the benefit of various languages where the user can choose the language of his interest. For instance, if members of a family prefer to read the news in different languages, online news portals is their best option.
I believe, as the world is moving ahead with technology, we would not be surprised if the printed newspapers become a thing of the past.
[ by – Naaz ]
Sample Answer 3: (Agree)
The printed newspaper has dominated the last century but has already lost its appeal to a great extent. As the online newspaper is gaining popularity at a rapid speed, I personally believe that new generation will find it cumbersome to read the news in a traditional way and thus it would become a thing of the past.
To begin with, technology has revolutionalised the way we want to read the news. Online news media has far more technological tools to present news to the viewers than the printed newspapers. Sophisticated technology allows us to comment, share and bookmark a news which traditional newspapers have no way to offer. On top of that, the internet is more eco-friendly than the newspapers. The less printed newspaper we use, the more trees we save. So, the government and other environmental agencies would promote the use of eco-friendly products and services and digital news portals will be more popular in upcoming years. Many European countries’ paper use rates for printed media show a significant decline and it is obvious that this trend will continue.
Many people say that the reading printed newspaper is not only a habit but also a culture for many human beings. Perhaps it may be true to some degree, but we cannot deny that the new generation is on the path of swift changing cultures and habits, according to the social changes. They hold the view that the faster we accept the changes, the better it is and they mostly read the news on their electronic gizmos such as smartphones and similar devices.
To conclude, despite printed newspapers’ traditional value and a nostalgic appeal, the digital version would surely replace it in the future.
[ Written by – Basil Pallath ]