Blogs Are a ‘Godsend’ to Busy College Students
Some students print out blogs to read on the subway, the bus -- and even in class
By Tara Saycocie
As soon as Adrienne Auge opens her Internet browser, Gawker is the first thing she sees.
“I love that damn thing,” says Auge, 22, a senior at Montana State University, who made the popular gossip blog the default Web page on her browser. “I’m such a sucker for celebrity news, and Gawker gives it to me all day long. It’s a godsend, really.”
The blogging trend is exploding, and the effect is being felt by the college generation with great force. With the Internet playing a central role in many college students’ lives, blogs seem to be gaining a large college following.
“I like to check out blogs because they’re condensed and concise,” adds Auge. “I get a lot of info in a small amount of space and time, which is great because I’m really busy this semester.”
“Honestly, I’d love to sit down and read the print version of the New York Times every morning over coffee and a bagel, but I just don’t have time.”
The convenience of reading a blog is a significant attraction. Some students will even copy and paste the text from a blog into a blank document and print it out to read on the subway, the bus—or in class.
“I constantly print out stories I find on the Drudge Report,” says Ryan Bennett, 22, a senior at New York University. “I read them on the train, or when lecture gets a little dry. Drudge always has great stuff to read.”
The gossipy celebrity blogs published by Gawker Media get a lot of attention from college students. Blogs such as Gawker and Defamer cater well to the busy student in need of a quick celebrity fix.
“They’re a great way to get breaking news on something scandalous,” says Ashley Evans, 23, a senior real-estate major at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
Many students appear to depend on blogs more for entertainment than hard news. While blogs like the Drudge Report and Talking Points Memo are widely recognized, most students seem to take the validity of the information they offer with caution.
“I know bloggers can be really biased because they act as their own editors,” says Bennett. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t read blogs. It means that they’re not my sole source of news.”
Many students are opting to get their hard news headlines online as well. With most major newspapers in the country offering their print content on the Web for free, students on a budget find these sites to be a quick and easy resource for news.
“Honestly, I’d love to sit down and read the print version of the New York Times every morning over coffee and a bagel, but I just don’t have time,” says Evans. “Instead, I get up in the morning, check out the newest headlines online, print up the ones that look interesting, and get out the door.”