I discovered a stack of popular science magazines at the bottom of a bookshelf when my husband and I were about to move the shelf to another room. They dated back to the late 1970s.

Along with the old science magazines were old film magazines. As we leafed through the pages, we recalled the days when our conversations were spiced with puns, dialogues or even cliched speeches from protagonists in the films that we'd watched over and over again.

We still have fond memories of those magazines as they opened the world of science and motion pictures to us.

Back in 1970, there were barely 21 different periodicals in China, and the country was still very much closed to the outside world.

However, we were still able to catch a glimpse of it and get a sense of how far science and technology as well as film arts had advanced. We also learned the life stories of famous scientists as well as behind-the-scenes tales of film stars.

While the popular science magazines nurtured many talented young scientists, the literary periodicals cultivated budding writers. The magazine Knowledge of the World made many young people dream of becoming diplomats.

The circulations of those magazines were also quite handsome, with the leading film and literary magazines at one time selling a few million copies each.

But the good old days have long gone for those popular magazines, despite the fact that China has enjoyed continuous publication booms. The number of magazines rose 10 fold in 26 years - from 930 titles in 1978 to 9,468 in 2004.

Magazines seem to have lost their impact on the life and future aspirations of teenagers the way they did when I was in secondary school.

Teens nowadays seem to crave very few publications like the Reader, a weekly magazine filled with philosophical and human-interest narratives, some based on true stories.

Even the Reader seems to come in for criticism. Some teachers admonish their students not to copy its style because it has become cliched.

The participants in the ongoing 36th World Magazine Conference in Beijing talk about how to adapt to the changes brought about by the digital revolution. I wonder how many are aware that the future of magazines will have to confront the younger generations who grow up without discovering the appeal of print magazines.

Many are more involved in the limitless virtual world of the Internet, able to look for whatever pops up and eager to publish their own thoughts and works. These youths may not have the patience to go into depth in the things they need to learn to contribute to the new knowledge pool.

I believe that content still is the key to attracting young people to magazines. Of course, I am not alone, as about one-third of European and North American media and entertainment executives surveyed by Accenture - a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company - said it was the content that was driving their revenues.

However, not only the print media people but also people in new media must think hard on how to balance their readers' desire to get information with their desire to contribute to the information.

Shallowness and vulgarity will not sustain an audience of even the young. I believe that in time they will learn the lasting appeal and usefulness of information in depth.

E-mail:lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 05/17/2007 page10)