# Do you buy magazines? Did you ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 5, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014 "2019-11-05T04:27:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/1 "2019-11-05T04:27:57Z")
I was watching a YouTube video where an adult was talking to a couple of teenagers (I believe they were both 19) about his views of what he thought about modern teenagers were like and how accurate or inaccurate the teenagers felt they were. One thing he mentioned was his belief that teenagers never bought magazines. And both teenagers conceded that they had never bought a magazine. I know magazine sales have declined. But I was surprised to hear about two average young people who have never bought a magazine in their lifetime. I’m not setting up a formal poll but I would like to do an informal survey. Do you buy magazines? On a frequent basis? Occasionally? Rarely? Never? Have you bought magazines in the past? Are there specific situations when you buy a magazine; like when you’re going on a flight? Do you subscribe to any magazines? Have you subscribed to any magazines in the past? What’s your age? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/2 "2019-11-05T04:30:05Z")
My own personal responses: I buy magazines occasionally. I used to buy them frequently but my magazine reading declined when I retired. (I worked a lot of night shifts and reading was an easy way to kill time while staying alert.) I do not subscribe to any magazines now. I have had several magazine subscriptions in the past. I’m in my late fifties. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/3 "2019-11-05T04:30:36Z")
I rarely buy magazines anymore. But, in the 80’s I had subscriptions to at least 15 magazines. ---
**Author:** ![sjankis630](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ea924/32.png) [@sjankis630](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjankis630)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/4 "2019-11-05T04:37:44Z")
I still buy a few but I don’t have any more subscriptions. I would add - if this is relevant - that I have not bought a physical newspaper in a long time either. I read the majority of my “magazines” online in the form of about 1,000 loosely completely unconnected/connected articles. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/5 "2019-11-05T04:38:06Z")
I think that the last magazine I bought an issue of was [this one](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-01-09/newtype-usa-to-cease-publication), and it was canceled 11 years ago. In the years before that, I used to buy lots of them–maybe 10 or 12 per month? All of them science, computer, and science fiction titles. Age almost 47. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/6 "2019-11-05T04:40:26Z")
Not so much anymore, unless I see an article I really want to read. But back when I was growing up, my grandparents would always get us a subscription to _National Geographic_ every year for Xmas. That was pretty cool. (And it definitely helped with homework!) I also had a subscription to _Seventeen_ when I was in high school. I used to read that and _YM_ a lot, and the usual teeny-bopper mags. And then in college I liked the _Star Wars Insider_. Magazines have just gotten so expensive, it’s easier to read them online, or at the library. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/7 "2019-11-05T04:48:40Z")
We used to subscribe to a number of them: National Geographic, Alaska Magazine, Smithsonian, Sunset, and some others. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/8 "2019-11-05T04:48:54Z")
I had subscriptions for Byte and PC Mag for over 10 years. My only subscription now is Consumer Reports. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/9 "2019-11-05T04:55:04Z")
I may have subscribed to one or two. Used to buy some. I collect old (70s or older) Southern Living magazine. My kids had a couple of gift subscriptions from grandparents, for kids mags. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/10 "2019-11-05T05:10:00Z")
Don’t know how long it’s been since I bought a magazine. Probably at an airport. I had subscriptions to a few different magazines, probably nothing in this century. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/11 "2019-11-05T05:17:13Z")
Just remembered, my brother gave me a subscription to Mad Magazine a few years ago. And I had a subscription to Dr. Dobbs around 2008. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/12 "2019-11-05T05:36:23Z")
Late fifties here. I’ll typically buy one or two if I’m at an airport. Usually, such purchases will be magazines that deal with sports, and current affairs and opinion. I still subscribe to Time, and I had a subscription to Sports Illustrated for years. ---
**Author:** ![GMANCANADA](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gmancanada/32/2837_2.png) [@GMANCANADA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GMANCANADA)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/13 "2019-11-05T08:32:02Z")
At our family’s peak in the 90’s we had maybe subscriptions to maybe 10 magazines at one time. That ended after the realization, while looking at the 2 ft high stack next to both the sides of our bed, that we did not have nearly the time to read them all. I felt like if I paid for it I had to read it cover to cover, but I never had the time to do that, perpetual guilt ensued. A couple years ago I found “Texture” which has since become Apple News. We couldn’t be happier. We pay $13/month and get about\*\* 130 \*\*magazine subscriptions / month, (they’re basically pdf’s, so you get the full issue including advertising etc), plus a year or two of back issues, plus countless newspapers daily. Zero guilt - I read the single article I want and move on. No big stack beside the bed, no paper wasted or recycled either. That said, my son’s 18 and has never bought a single magazine for himself and has no use for them. He gets all the news and stories he’s interested in online everyday. He says magazines are outdated and the stories are months old by the time you get them. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/14 "2019-11-05T08:50:57Z")
I’ve had two subscriptions for some 40 years now: _Science News_ and _Sky and Telescope_. Don’t plan on giving them up. A former landlord and I jointly subscribed to the local newspaper. When I moved earlier this year, I stopped that, but found I miss it. So I’m thinking of resubscribing. ETA: I donate the magazines to a local (very small) library that doesn’t have a budget for magazines. Surprisingly, a number of other people also donate magazines, so the library actually has a reasonable selection. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/15 "2019-11-05T09:49:56Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you buy magazines? On a frequent basis? Occasionally? Rarely? Never? At present I would say no, I do not buy magazines. Once in a very, very great while I might buy one, less than once a year. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Have you bought magazines in the past? Yes. I used to have multiple simultaneous subscriptions. I now read things on the internet instead, or borrow the library’s copy while I’m there. > [@](#): > > Are there specific situations when you buy a magazine; like when you’re going on a flight? No, I’m the weirdo that watches out the window on a flight. 😃 I would not say there is a specific occasion. It would be when I’m in a situation where I have zero entertainment, OR the magazine has an article I’m extremely interested in. > [@](#): > > Do you subscribe to any magazines? Have you subscribed to any magazines in the past? As I said - not now, but yes very much in the past. > [@](#): > > What’s your age? Mid-50’s ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/16 "2019-11-05T10:40:51Z")
Back in the day I used to have 10+ subscriptions going at a time. I loved magazines. I can’t remember the last time I purchased one over the counter. I do still subscribe to The New Yorker, and, off and on, National Geographic. Coincidentally I was in a supermarket the other day. I had time to kill waiting for a return text on what type of chicken to buy so I wandered over to the (huge) display of magazines. As I browsed I wondered to myself how many of them were actually sold in a month. Some of the titles were pretty obscure. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/17 "2019-11-05T11:14:10Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you buy magazines? On a frequent basis? Occasionally? Rarely? Never? If “buy” means physically select from a magazine rack, then No. Never. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Have you bought magazines in the past? Yes, but rarely > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Are there specific situations when you buy a magazine; like when you’re going on a flight? More likely when visiting a new town/state. Either something to pass the time, or something local to the area. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Do you subscribe to any magazines? Have you subscribed to any magazines in the past? > What’s your age? Yes, Texas Monthly, and Texas Highways are the only print magazines I currently subscribe to. I get a Yachting magazine somehow (I didn’t sign up). I rarely read it, since the articles are about boats in excess of $10 million. I have no idea why it arrives at my house, but this is the second year. In the past: American Rifleman, National Geographic, and The Economist. The only ones I’ve saved are my collection of Mad magazines from the late 60s and early 70s. I still reread those occasionally – much of it is still funny to me. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/18 "2019-11-05T11:30:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I was watching a YouTube video where an adult was talking to a couple of teenagers (I believe they were both 19) about his views of what he thought about modern teenagers were like and how accurate or inaccurate the teenagers felt they were. > > One thing he mentioned was his belief that teenagers never bought magazines. And both teenagers conceded that they had never bought a magazine. > > I know magazine sales have declined. But I was surprised to hear about two average young people who have never bought a magazine in their lifetime. > > I’m not setting up a formal poll but I would like to do an informal survey. > > Do you buy magazines? On a frequent basis? Occasionally? Rarely? Never? > > Have you bought magazines in the past? > > Are there specific situations when you buy a magazine; like when you’re going on a flight? > > Do you subscribe to any magazines? Have you subscribed to any magazines in the past? > > What’s your age? I’m 43. I used to buy magazines, but I don’t think I’ve actually done so in years\*. Maybe even over a decade. when I read/see stuff about people like that guy in the YT vid you mention, more and more I understand the “OK Boomer” thing. (\* as in “I’ve not gone to the magazine rack of a store and bought anything in years.” I’m not counting stuff that’s mailed to me as part of something else e.g. “Costco Connection.” That usually just goes in the bin anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/19 "2019-11-05T12:02:43Z")
Back when I cared about new music and “young people stuff” I used to get Rolling Stone. Now I just get National Geographic and MAD. They both go directly on the back of the toilet. The previous owner(s) of our house apparently never switched her magazine subscriptions so we occasionally get Decor and something else that sucks. Those go directly into the recycling. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014/20 "2019-11-05T12:22:04Z")
I’m 61. We’ve had a _Cooks Illustrated_ subscription for a long time. Other than that, I’d have to reach back twenty or thirty years to when I used to buy _High Times_ at the “book store” (there used to be stores that sold books, magazines, and sometimes coffee!). A friend was just telling me about his _Apple News_ subscription; for X.99 a month (9?) he gets to choose from a huge list of magazine subscriptions in digital format. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-buy-magazines-did-you-ever/843014.md?page=2)