Why I’ve started reading magazines again and what I’ve learnt so far

A little under 6 months ago I bought a magazine. Prior to that, it must have been around 8-10 years since I’d last bought one.

I don’t remember exactly what sparked it but I think I just wanted to see what magazines were like these days. I also wanted to see if I’d enjoy them like I used to before blogging, Youtube, Instagram and Pinterest came to the forefront.

I’ve since bought a few more magazines because I’m really enjoying reading them again. I love sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea or a juice, in silence reading my magazine.

I recently read an article about a home renovation and it was really interesting. It was nice to thoughtfully look at the photos and think about whether or not I liked how the room was decorated and what items of furniture were my favourite.

I also thought about how long I’d spent looking at the article and images spread over a few pages in contrast with how much I’d have consumed in the same amount of time on Pinterest or Instagram.

I’m learning that I like the slower pace of magazines compared to being online. Reading a magazine feels like time well spent because I’m more conscious and intentional about what I’m consuming.

I’m looking at every single page instead of flicking through quickly because the content is limited. I like that there’s no audio, no screen, no videos and no pop-ups.

However, on social media your options are unlimited and it’s hard to savour what you see because there will be more tomorrow. In fact there will be more in a few seconds, so you just end up going from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next.

I’m thinking a lot about how I spend my free time and although I’m not ditching my phone or social media, I’m looking at how I can move time I’d usually spend on those things to screen free options.

My starting point has been going back to my pre-teen years, before I had a mobile phone and my only internet access was school and 1 or 2 hours a week at my local library.

In those days I spent my time at home reading books, reading magazines, watching tv and doing arts&crafts. As much as the tv is still a screen, the pace was much slower compared to social media.

Going back to magazines has been quite eye opening so far and I’m looking forward to seeing how things develop as time goes on.