Youth Prefer 'Net Over Newspapers For News
By Anna Abu Bakar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Majority of local youths are a lot more dependent on the internet in terms of keeping up with current events as opposed to picking up a newspaper.

Shahrin, 16, admits to not reading the newspaper unless absolutely necessary.

When The Brunei Times inquired as to when exactly is the time he deems as necessary, he responded by saying "when I am doing an assignment that requires me to do some research through current news from the newspapers."

Shahrin also said that he mostly found some form of information for his assignments from the internet where "any information can easily be found with a simple click and I don't have to flip and filter through certain articles to find the topic I am looking for."

Another student, who wishes to remain anonymous stated that she depends on her parents or grandparents to buy the newspaper but at the same time says that when they forget to buy the newspaper for the day, "I don't really care so much because it is not as important to me to read up on the news like my parents."

For Norkhatijah Hj Alimin, 15, she admitted that she has been brought up in a reading environment and even when she was nine-year-old, her parents would teach her to read up on the news.

She suggested that the majority of youths in Brunei are too dependent on the internet and refuses to read up on information the old fashion way.

"I have a friend who prefers to read the news from the internet and watches news from the internet instead of switching on the television," she admitted.

In terms of local news, The Brunei Times also inquired as to whether the local youth keep up with the local current events and one student who is in secondary 4 in a private school in the capital, said nonchalantly that she depends on her parents to inform her of thee local developments. "Although, when I do have time to sit down, I try and watch the news on RTB whenever I can," she added.

One former student from Universiti Brunei Darussalam shared her experience when she was in university that even her friends did not share the same reading culture as her.

"There were times when we were required to read old newspapers regarding a certain event and my friends who were in the same course complained about the reading material. And it doesn't even stop there. I had another friend who complained about having to read so many books when doing a certain coursework which is very silly considering at the university level, a lot of research is required. Instead, she would prefer to do her research online," she said.

Brunei Darussalam currently has a literacy rate of 95 per cent, which tops other South East Asian countries, the figures do not in anyway imply that they are regular readers.

Most Bruneians can read, but the underlying general mindset is that they will not read unless they have to.-- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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