There were many more people on the DART this morning, with the schools back today. Those of us not tapping away on smartphones, trying to have a little sleep, gazing out of the window in utter boredom or listening to music at high volume with a gormless expression, were reading the free newspaper, Metro Herald.
(NB: If you're more familiar with just 'Metro', then Dublin got carried away with itself. Metro was launched here a few years ago, and the local Evening Herald decided it wanted a piece of the action too. It was not sustainable for either paper, chasing small markets of advertisers and audience - and Dublin was drowning in discarded newsprint. A 'merger' took place - the 'Herald' suffix is all that remains of the second paper. This is not the worst that could happen - the Evening Herald's design is awful. Remember when you first got DTP software and used as many fonts as you could? The Herald is lile that.)
The Metro Herald is effectively the Daily Mail, but for free. It ought to be categorised as a class A drug :
1. It is pushed openly on the streets by a gang of dealers
"Good morning Metro Herald!"
It's inviting, isn't it? You'd think that bright yellow raincoats would attract the attention.
2. The contents have dangerous effects on the mind
The relentless stream of headlines about house prices, crime, jobs, health ... everyone is either gaming the system against you, or a victim of the system - and it could easily be you!
3. The dealers have no qualms pushing their product onto children
Children's brains are remarkably pliant. Learning foreign languages comes more easily to them than adults, as their neural paths are not yet hard-wired. They willingly accept and embrace differences between themselves and others. The Metro has an insidious effect on their political and social outlook.
4. It feeds a chronic spiral of decline
See 2. Exposure to these headlines darkens the mood. Further exposure (usually the next day) makes things gloomier.
5. It leads to harder drugs
You will end up reading the Daily Mail. Extreme cases may result in reading the Daily Express. Or in Dublin, the Irish Independent.
Happy reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment