While also taking advantage of news, messaging and other aspects of life online, Newsworks insight manager Imogen Power explains how time with printed news brands keeps her and her family more relaxed and engaged with the world around them
I depend on my phone. The social connections, time saving apps and information it has brought to my fingertips have streamlined my life in ways that I couldn’t have imagined growing up. I love the ease of messaging, shopping, banking and of course news brand apps which give me a daily newsstand in my pocket. But it’s also nice to take a break from screens.
And, while smartphones are integral to the parental juggling act, screen use gets especially complicated when children are involved. When I’m checking the news on my phone, I know I’m reading great journalism in a beautifully designed app but the private nature of the device means, to an onlooker (ie. my kids), I could be doing anything. Plus, if I’m glued to my phone, my children are quick to point out the hypocrisy when I set limits on their screen time.
A radical innovation has transformed my weekends: the printed paper. On a personal level, reading in print gives me a welcome break from staring at my device. I’m relaxed, focussed and relishing the gentle turn of the page. This is backed up with IPA Touchpoints data which shows that people reading printed news on a Sunday are more likely to feel relaxed than those using social media or even watching TV. The signals I’m sending to those around me are different too. When I settle down with the weekend papers my children see me making time to read. I’m telling them reading is worthwhile and that current affairs matter to me.
Reading any quality journalism is proven to switch our brains on – Newsworks’ Context Matters study shows that our prefrontal cortex (personal relevance), right brain (big picture) and left brain (detail) are all more engaged when reading premium editorial than while free-browsing online. Reading in print takes things to the next level. Even without accounting for the break from notifications, studies show that reading from paper is consistently associated with deeper comprehension than reading from screens. The time that print news readers choose to spend with the format (1 hr 20 minute, rising to 1 hr 38 minutes on Sunday) is testament to the ultra engrossing nature of printed journalism.
As the news sections spill out across my weekend breakfast table, reading becomes communal. It prompts family chats about headlines, photos and adverts. Of course the conversations veer off on less cerebral tangents but for my children there is now a baseline exposure to the week’s events. My eldest now grabs a section and reads alongside me and surprised his parents by becoming the household authority on mayoral candidates.
Of course quality journalism needs to be funded and the creative use of printed ad space often enhances the reading experience. While some media suffer from ad avoidance, research from Magnetic shows that 75% of newspaper readers don’t think adverts detract from the experience. Ads in printed news are also proven to be effective; RAMetrics data shows brand recall for printed news ads stands at a mighty 78%. To top it all off, Thinkbox’s Profit Ability 2 study showed ROI from print ads is the highest of any mainstream media with £1 invested in print resulting in £6.36 long term ROI.
Rediscovering printed news has been a joy for me personally and its benefits have spread through my home. News brand apps are still my go-to for a weekday bulletin but the weekends belong to print. With the latest addition to our family being, not the longed-for puppy, but a compost bin, our shredded papers can now look forward to an afterlife nurturing flowers.
