The Immortality of Page Flipping
I watched from my laptop as Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City flipped through piles of Vogue magazines, throwing them behind her in frustration as she couldn’t find the right outfit for her book cover photoshoot. Instantly, I was brought back to when I was a little girl, flipping through American Girl Doll and Tabloid magazines and also, frustratingly, throwing them behind me when I got an answer to a crush quiz that I wasn’t satisfied with.
The life and death of printed magazines. Do people my age still read, or even own, physical magazines?
Living through the rise of laptops, 16 generations of IPhones, and an almost completely digital celebrity culture powered through Tiktok and Instagram, it comes to no surprise that we would hardly be able to see a magazine or newspaper in the hands of Gen Z. With this rapid technological shift, several- if not dozens- of popular news and tabloid companies have moved their physical magazines to the screens permanently, including Teen Vogue, ESPN, and Self.
Even traditional news outlets haven’t been immune to this rapid extinction of physical print. According to Statista’s study on the “Mean annual expenditure on newspapers and magazines per consumer unit in the United States from 2017 to 2022,” newspapers alone dropped from $37.27 to $29.82 in only five years. Does this mean that physical magazines and newspapers are coming to their demise?
Thankfully, the answer seems to be no. How do we know? Just take a trip to the third-floor magazine section of the Union Square Barnes and Noble–good luck trying to get a seat! Despite an inescapable digital takeover, printed magazine culture is still alive and well, and honestly, it doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere anytime soon. Every weekend, the magazine section of the Union Square Barnes and Noble is completely packed with people. Readers of all ages flock to the magazine and tabloid sections, eyes skimming through looking for the most interesting cover page. Let’s be honest, magazines go great with coffee and biscuits (also a perk that the Barnes and Noble Starbucks sits right next to the magazine section).
On a deeper emotional level, in regards to our consistent love for magazines, publishers are beginning to notice that there still appears to be a closer and heartfelt connection between readers and print magazines- rather than what can be seen in the digital world. According to Magnetic Media, 77% of adults feel positive emotions when reading magazines, compared to the social media caused by positive emotions, in 59%. The throwing the newspaper moment behind your head moment by Carrie Bradshaw seems to be a shared loved emotion, as even co-founder of Flow magazine Irene Smit believes that the happy feelings of younger generations’ media interactions would be delivered more positively and powerfully with paper.
In the end, maybe the magic of magazines isn’t from the content or what we read, it’s in the feelings of flipping the pages and accidentally giving yourself a paper cut that makes you feel more connected to the moment, and even to yourself. Of course, the world has gone digital, but maybe we haven’t fully embraced the transition with open arms. Perhaps we still long for what the world was before it popped up on screens. Something I know now, though: print isn’t dead. It simply evolved into something slightly more intentional. So, be it an old copy of Teen Vogue, the newest edition of The New Yorker, or perhaps my favorite edition of Victoria, there is still magic sprinkling through the pages while holding a copy of a story in your hands. I suggest going to the third floor of Barnes and Noble and see for yourself!
