Here's One Smart 26-Year-Old. Why? He Likes Newspapers

Stop the presses: A 26-year-old has publicly "confessed" that he prefers to read (and pay for) newspapers, the real thing, rather than poach "free" content from the web.

I came across this disclosure in an article by one Alexander Ewing in Intelligent Life, a magazine published by The Economist, and was so charmed I decided to share it.

Why does he do it?

I think print is good for your health. Get away from the screen for a bit. Most of us spend too much time slumped in a backlit stare. Once freed you will find that print publications have intellectual cachet in the public sphere. A Mac laptop says little about its owner; the iPod user is indistinguishable. But the intern who arrives brandishing a distinctively salmon copy of the Financial Times is going places (if maybe a bit too keen). Emerging from the subway with a big-screen kindle tucked under one's arm does not have the same effect as a thumbed and refolded copy of the New York Times (nor can it double as an umbrella).

And get ready to smile:

Contrary to what internet networkers say, print is a social tool too...Fighting over the front section is a healthy morning ritual, and dividing and conquering a paper is a fundamental weekend activity. In public, a newspaper makes for a great shield. Broadsheets are particularly good for avoiding people you recognise on the train. Hiding behind a laptop is difficult. Forget the blackberry.

There's more, but I won't spoil it, even if you have to read the article online (here).

I hope he goes forth and multiplies.