3BL - 201029_1

How do you find out what’s going on in the world? A recent survey shows that the majority of ‘under-25s’ now turn to social media. Especially since the arrival of smartphones, platforms like Facebook, Twitter and web channels have overtaken TV as their main source of news.

Sixty years ago, most people either relied on a TV or radio news bulletin once or twice a day, or read a printed newspaper. Live TV reports were only possible if the journalists and camera crew were in the right place at the right time. Newspapers were out of date even before they left the printing presses. It’s very different these days. The same survey shows that some people, of all ages, have not bought a printed newspaper for years.

These days most people carry a mini-computer, complete with a camera and microphone, in their pockets.

Now everyone can be an instant news reporter. For example, when a powerful earthquake struck central Italy in 2016, the news spread around the world in minutes.

Buildings were still shaking when the

rescue effort started. While survivors were still appearing from the ruins, offers of help were flooding in.

The latest technology undoubtedly saved lives.

However, is this new world of rolling news always a good thing?