Submitted: The Two Sides Team December 6, 2013

For your information (FYI) a recent survey stated more people get their news from the Internet than from newspapers and more ad dollars went to online outlets than to newspapers.

via The Garden Island – December 4, 2013

By the way, (BTW) can you imagine your grandparents having  read the newspaper and seeing abbreviated  comments like, IMHO, LOL, and WTF? Let me start by saying that 'WTF' does not stand for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and in my honest opinion (IMHO) I have never told anyone I am laughing out loud (LOL) except maybe my BFF (best friend forever).

For your information (FYI) a recent survey stated more people get their news from the Internet than from newspapers and more ad dollars went to online outlets than to newspapers. This trend is growing toward electronic journalism and in the near future we may not have the luxury of choosing to read a real hard-copied newspaper, which in itself would be a  travesty.

I have been reading The Garden Island news online for almost 10 years now. I used to comment on the stories I found interesting and after a few years, quit commenting because of the venomous hate from other commentaries should you disagree with them. To quote Paul Simon, "there was slander, libel and words I never heard in the Bible." These were the commenters who preached aloha if you agreed with them. If you didn't agree with them, they were out to get you.

A few months ago I decided to subscribe to The Garden Island newspaper, the real thing, the hard copy, the way I read the paper in my youth and as a young man. I forget how wonderful reading the newspaper can be. I was not tempted to comment to a story with the potential of being verbally abused  by another commenter who may have disagreed with me.

I do not have to worry about spilling my coffee on my computer and having an expensive repair or having a virus stop me from reading a particular article.

Just relaxing with The Garden Island News with my morning coffee, in my favorite recliner, dog at my side, is a comfort and luxury of life I had forgotten.

Reading the hard copy, I do not see all the varied opinions expressed through the comments board. It is comforting reading the newspaper without other readers chiming in. I just read the paper without talking back. It's relaxing and feels wonderful to just read the paper like our ancestors did many years ago.

For anyone trying to save a few bucks by reading online, there is still nothing like the Sunday paper.  There are many inserts not available online that are only available with a real hard-copied newspaper that  can save you enough money to pay for the subscription itself. I found coupons for free taco's and  two-for-one dinners that I never would had found reading online. I was also able to read the comics section in color on Sunday, Charlie, Lucy and Snoopy are still around  to make me laugh, sometimes even out loud.

With all the political hate and social media hoopla out there, locally on Kauai with Bill 2491, which has torn a community apart, it finally feels awesome to read a newspaper uninterrupted again, without commenters chiming in and ruining the experience and enjoyment. With all said, there are still those that enjoy commenting with one another. To each their own.

I had forgotten the beauty and fun of asking others in the living room or coffee bistro, "Could someone please pass me the sports section, or better yet, Please hand me the Forum page."

James Kimo Rosen is a retired professional photographer living in Kapaa with his best friend Obama Da Dog, Rosen also blogs as a hobby www.dakinetalk.blogspot.com

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