Technology has become a crucial part of the daily lives of billions of people around the world. From connecting with friends and family to meeting work deadlines, the Internet is a pervasive phenomenon that most people have experienced in one form or another.
Perhaps the area of society most severely affected by the advent of the Internet is the entertainment industry. From playing new collaborative games to streaming new movies and shows, entertainment consumption today is very different than it was just a few decades ago. Let’s take a look at how streaming has changed our consumption habits across all forms of entertainment, focusing on gaming, television, and movies.
Gaming
One area where streaming has changed the fabric of consumption is gaming. Like the media described above, gaming has increasingly become an online experience, with many providers offering back catalogs of their most popular hits. And while titles from a few decades ago were entirely solo experiences, modern games almost always have at least some online elements.
Online streaming has also virtually replaced the LAN parties of the early 2000s. Gamers no longer need to take their hard drives to a friend’s house so they can play the same game with their friends. People from all over the world can connect within the game in a way that was never possible just two decades ago.
Casino gaming is another industry revolutionized by streaming. Instead of visiting casinos in person to access their favorite games, today’s players can often find all of their top titles online. This has been a huge help, especially for people who prefer to spend time alone than be in a crowd. For example, it is no longer necessary to play a deck of cards in person, but can be done completely online through a trusted operator.
TV shows
A few decades ago, people watched live television when the program was broadcast. If the program one wanted to watch was broadcast on Thursday at 7 pm, then they were in front of the television at 7 pm on Thursday. If a viewer did not watch the show on its initial broadcast, he was required to repeat it later in the week.
There was also no guarantee that the replay would not be affected by a breaking news or sports game, so it was a question of whether one could watch the episode one had missed before the next one came out or not. People who didn’t watch the episode live also didn’t know what happened and were generally left out of the next day’s “cooling” discussions; there was no online synopsis to fill in the gaps.
Since 2016, the number of people in Canada paying for a streaming service has increased from 54% (2016) to 80% (2020). Today’s youth know nothing about being tied to a television during a show. On the contrary, it is now possible to watch programs whenever and wherever you want.
Many networks, both local and premium, now offer their programs online through a streaming service. This allows viewers to watch the episodes whenever they want when they have time. Of course, this doesn’t mean that no one watches traditional network programming, but it’s just that it’s now much easier for viewers to comfortably keep up with their favorite shows.
Films
Much of the above information about television shows also applies to movies. While attending the movies in person remains a favorite activity for many across Canada, an increasing number of people are opting for movie screenings at home. While this isn’t always available while the movie is in theaters, some providers launch their VOD offering alongside in-cinema screenings, allowing you to watch a new movie without leaving home.
Once movies leave theaters, there’s no need to wait for them to be released on VHS or DVD either. Streaming has made it easier to watch most movies immediately after they finish airing in theaters. From Netflix to Prime, Twitch and everything in between, it’s never been easier to watch a movie. Note that this is true even for old and little-known movies. There is a growing catalog of old movies, including silent films, on the Internet for instant perusal. Movies like this used to be expensive and time-consuming to find, but now they’re available with a quick Google search and usually with a subscription to a low-priced streaming service.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn