Newsstand sales of magazines have been dropping in recent years, and we can’t help wondering what that means to us in the long run. Not “us” as members of the publishing industry, but as members of American society.

Several factors probably are at work, but one overpowering detail stands out: The magazines that are losing buyers seem to be losing them to magazines that focus on the latest gossip about Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston and the like.

Circulation Management, a publication for publishers, said of Des Moines’ own Meredith Corp. last spring: “Meredith’s newsstand sales problems, fully exposed in the second half of last year, are exacerbated by the fact that they now publish three of the six sisters titles (Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies Home Journal and Family Circle), publications that appear to be very vulnerable to the cannibalizing sales impact of the celebrity titles.”

You won’t find a lot of serious-minded titles on the rack at the supermarket. It’s not as if people are considering Scientific American and The Atlantic Monthly before deciding to pick up something with Angelina and Brad on the cover.

Still, even Meredith’s cozy, careful approach has more to offer serious-minded readers than the celeb mags that are prospering. “The sales of the five standard format celebrity titles (People, Us, Star, In Touch, Life & Style) were up 20 percent in revenue,” in the last half of 2005, according to CM. “The sales of the other 470 audited titles sold at the newsstand were down — 6.8 percent in units and 5.9 percent in revenue.”

That sends a clear message that impulse buyers care more and more about the most superficial of topics.

Subscriptions are a different and more important part of the picture, of course, and the good news for Meredith is that overall business is great. The company posted a 15 percent increase in profits for the fiscal fourth quarter.

We’re tempted to classify some sales declines as good news, too. During the last half of ’05, newsstand sales of the National Enquirer and the Globe plunged 13 percent. Glad to hear it.