Read all about it
Wednesday 26 April 2006
Some people say that young people aren't interested in current events and few teenagers would probably admit that they watched the news.
n2k wanted to find out if our readers really do avoid the news or if they're aware of what's going on in the world today. Here's what our quick survey said:
News junkies
Critics of young people and their attitude to current affairs might be surprised to find that just under half of n2k's readers told us that they read a newspaper or watched the news in some form every day.
"I read a free paper on my way to school every morning," says 15-year-old Amir. "When I get back home and go online, I'll look at the local paper's web site to see if there's anything going on."
"We talk about world events in lessons at school all the time, so you have to know what's going on," explains Bronwen, 16.
"Sometimes our homework is to watch the news and make notes but I watch it anyway. There's loads happening around the world that we'd never know about otherwise."
Part-timers
Just under a third of those who answered admitted to reading a paper at least every two weeks or so, with half of this group catching up with the news once a week or more.
"I don't buy newspapers because they cost too much," Paige, 14, tells us. "But I sometimes read my dad's paper to see if there's anything interesting."
"The only news I watch is Newsround every few days or so," says William, 13. "It's not as long and boring as the proper news and you can understand what the reporters are talking about.
The main news should be for everybody, not just people who left school."
News avoiders
While many of you said you liked to be up on what was happening in the big, bad world, a few of you reckoned you never picked up a paper or sat through a news bulletin. Around 17 per cent of you said that no news was good news to you.
"I just don't see the point because none of it affects me," says Tahira, 14. "We talk about politics at school and stuff so I don't want to watch it all when I get home."
Jonathan, 16, thinks that there are better things to do than sit in front of the 10 o'clock news. "It's bad enough having to do homework without watching the news. I don't read a paper because you can't believe anything they say anyway.
Most newspapers are more bothered about celebrities and what they're doing than facts and news."
Over to you
What do you think of our newspapers? Is the TV news a total turn-off? Fill in a few details on our contact form or send us an email.
