Something has always bugged me about clicking on the “Life” button at the USA Today website. It reads more like a celebrity gossip blog than it does life, in my opinion. As of this writing, here are the current stories running at the top of their Life page:
- Young fans go wild when JoBros invade theaters
- Lifeline Live; Aniston eats a dog treat
- Rihanna, Brown reunite in Miami
- Snicket is back with a kids’ mystery, CD
- Fine arts are in survival mode as funds dry up
- Holmes says she’s not pregnant, except with possibilities
So, why does this bother me? Because it’s so one-sided. Entertainment is just a small part of life. When I click on a “Life” button, I want to read about who attends high school reunions and why, who goes to coffee shops and why, who journals and why, who writes in long hand and why, who celebrates holidays apart from extended family and why, and so much more. I want to read about the median age for those who marry for the first time. I want to know why some people frequent one grocery story while others frequent another. I want to know what percentage of people don’t own a cell phone and I want to know why. I want to know who still writes letters and mails them via snail mail and why.
I guess you could say that I’m interested in finding out what motivates people in general. I don’t care if Jennifer Aniston ate a dog treat. I don’t care how wild fans of the Jonas Brothers got over the weekend. I don’t care if Katie Holmes is pregnant or not pregnant. If I did care, I’d expect to find such information behind the “Entertainment” button, if the USA Today had one, not the Life button.
