Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI
That would be an interesting social change, where programming becomes so fine tuned and personalized that there will be a diminishing population of people with a "shared experience." For instance, more people knew about the "Yada-Yada" episode of "Seinfeld" than the episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" with Stephen Colbert. Broadcast versus cable. As content gets more pinpointed, there may be less of that common experience to discuss.
|
I think we are already there. I'm 51 and I watch more video podcasts than TV shows by a wide margin. I don't even listen to NPR anymore, I just collect the episodes of the shows I like on podcasts and listen to an ipod while driving. I haven't used my car radio (as a radio) for a couple of years. I get 90% of my news from news websites (I can scam a dozen websites in a few minutes). If I want to watch a current TV series, I just buy the entire season on itunes (without commercials), or watch it on hulu when I have time. I've never watched an entire episode of Seinfeld, but I have all 7 seasons of the Sopranos sitting on a hard drive.
My kids watch/listen to completely separate media from me. I think my daughter watches more video on here phone than on her TV. Most of their "shared experience" comes from various chat rooms. They almost never talk on their phones, in favor of texting and e-mailing. I don't think my kids have any idea who Jay Leno is. They spend a lot more time playing online games and chatting with the other players than watching TV.
The point is that media has already become very focused, the days of everyone watch Ed Sullivan on Sunday nights are long gone.