Web expert Jakob Nielsen responded to the question of "how users read on the web?" by stating bluntly "They' don't." Online readers of news scan only. This can be accounted for by a few reasons. Firstly, the clarity and resolution of a screen is not as high as print media and users generally read 25% slower on screen than on print paper. Also, the computer age has gone hand in hand with an acceleration in how busy the lives are of the average person. To counter this, online news is generally divided into headings and subheadings to allow the users to quickly identify and select a certain portion of the story.

The effects of all this? Naturally this change in the scope of how the majority of us consume news had created what i'll call the 'self-prescribed expert'. What is happening now is that in general people are exposed to more news stories in a more immediate time frame. However this scanning aspect which was touched upon above has meant that users are simply taking in a plain account of events rather than reading through what would be in print, more lengthy analysis. Hence we are all becoming experts on an event that we may know little about, without reading the opinion and arguments of actual experts. Admittedly this can be both a good and bad thing for society.

Its good because people in general are more knowledgeable, but it tends to be only surface deep. User comments and blogs have allowed the amateur and inexperienced to voice opinions online that often have no substance. It seems that this phenomenon spills over into conversation now also.