People between the ages of 25 and 35, in post-industrial nations anyway, are special in that they have lived in almost two completely different worlds. One before the maturation of the Internet and one after the maturation of the Internet. Since the development of the internet and other technologies, media consumption has become more and more fragmented and specialized to consumer interests. New technologies and new media outlets have altered the way people experience popular culture.
We don’t have 72 channels anymore, we have 700. We don’t have to watch those shows when they air, we can record them and watch them later. We don’t have to listen to the radio, we can plug in your iPod and listen to our music library or listen to a podcast whenever we please. In the past there were less choices. Less channels, less radio options, no DVR, no podcasts and the Internet still in infancy.
The lack of choices, in a way, unified generations because they were forced into consuming the same pop culture/media and that was what they would have to talk about. For example, as an undergrad if I didn’t watch Conan O’Brien on a Wednesday night there wasn’t a way for me to see the show later on. I had to stay up late so that I knew what happened on Conan so that me and my friend Amber could talk about it over lunch the next day. Now I can watch Conan whenever I want online. That is great for me and my sleep schedule (but not for Conan’s ratings as he unfortunately learned last year). While I appreciate the option to watch when I want, I feel that this hurts my viewing experience.
The lack of choices, in a way, unified generations because they were forced into consuming the same pop culture/media and that was what they would have to talk about. For example, as an undergrad if I didn’t watch Conan O’Brien on a Wednesday night there wasn’t a way for me to see the show later on. I had to stay up late so that I knew what happened on Conan so that me and my friend Amber could talk about it over lunch the next day. Now I can watch Conan whenever I want online. That is great for me and my sleep schedule (but not for Conan’s ratings as he unfortunately learned last year). While I appreciate the option to watch when I want, I feel that this hurts my viewing experience.
Here is an example, a few months back Conan had Harrison Ford on as a guest. Mr. Ford appeared less than “present”. When media outlets, friends and podcasts I listen to discussed the appearance the whole conversation didn’t resonate because I hadn’t seen it. I didn’t see it until four days after it happened, and when I did watch it the experience was colored because I already knew what to expect and had already heard other peoples opinions.
Fragmentation
We’ve become more fragmented as a society. Our media is more and more specialized to our own interests and needs. We don’t even need to watch things as they air anymore. This has created a generation of people who don’t know what it means to have a collective experience or collective memory of that experience. There is/was something special about having large groups of people feel the urgency to have to watch things live and then come together to discuss it.
Our popular media unified us and provided us with common experiences that we could. To be clear, I am not saying we have to experience or feel the same way about those events or media; but at least by watching it together we can all have a common knowledge that will allow us to talk to one another in a way that builds community. For example, in 1994 Beverly Hills, 90210 averaged 21 million viewers and it was not anywhere close to the most watched show in television. Two and Half Men, by contrast, is among the highest rated sitcoms on television and it only has about 15 million viewers.
My point is that we aren’t unified by our popular media anymore. We have so many media options that it’s hard to have "water cooler" talks about TV shows, movies, music, etc. because one we have so many specialized media outlets and because nobody has to watch anything when it originally airs.
"Hey did you see that last night?"
"Nope. I recorded it."
"What about you, Jim? Did you see the Conan/Harrison Ford interview?"
"Nah, I was busy watching a show on the mating habits of beavers on the Semi-Aquatic Rodent Channel."
The Argument Against The Collective Experience
Many will argue that the more options there are the better it is for the consumer and the producers of content. That isn’t the issue for me. I agree that the more options to create and produce content is great. But popular media has always been a way for us to culturally connect with one another. When we don’t have these unifying cultural connections we lose something. We lose the experiences that tie generations, communities and nations together.
The Technology That Once Fragmented Us May Now Be Unifying Us
Twitter. I believe that social media tools that is bringing back the “must see event.” Because Twitter is an information and conversation tool (I think more so than Facebook) people want to be in the loop so they can join in that conversation. Twitter is, in a way, encouraging people to come together and have those common experiences and conversations that we have been missing.
Google TV with it's integration of Twitter and a full internet browser allows people to watch TV and connect online to discuss as we watch. Google TV may not necessarily become super popular, but I believe it could be the precursor for the successful integration of TV and the internet.
The “I Hate This” Problem
Here is a potential problem. What are the conversations that we will have have over social media and what will be the nature of those conversations? As Chris Connley recently mentioned on Bill Simmon’s podcast there is a concern that the conversations we have on our social media tend to be overly negative. For example, the Oscars. It seemed like the entire universe seemed focus on how bad James Franco and Anne Hathaway were. What unifies us isn’t the fact that we are collectively enjoying something, but rather that we collectively hate something and this too can be dangerous.
My Hope
My hope is that we don’t lose the ability to share in popular cultural as a group. It’s great that we have choices but sometimes choices can pull us apart. Hopefully we can use technology that gives us choices, but also allows us to experience things together and thus brings us together.
"Hey did you see that last night?"
"Nope. I recorded it."
"What about you, Jim? Did you see the Conan/Harrison Ford interview?"
"Nah, I was busy watching a show on the mating habits of beavers on the Semi-Aquatic Rodent Channel."
The Argument Against The Collective Experience
Many will argue that the more options there are the better it is for the consumer and the producers of content. That isn’t the issue for me. I agree that the more options to create and produce content is great. But popular media has always been a way for us to culturally connect with one another. When we don’t have these unifying cultural connections we lose something. We lose the experiences that tie generations, communities and nations together.
The Technology That Once Fragmented Us May Now Be Unifying Us
Twitter. I believe that social media tools that is bringing back the “must see event.” Because Twitter is an information and conversation tool (I think more so than Facebook) people want to be in the loop so they can join in that conversation. Twitter is, in a way, encouraging people to come together and have those common experiences and conversations that we have been missing.
Google TV with it's integration of Twitter and a full internet browser allows people to watch TV and connect online to discuss as we watch. Google TV may not necessarily become super popular, but I believe it could be the precursor for the successful integration of TV and the internet.
The “I Hate This” Problem
Here is a potential problem. What are the conversations that we will have have over social media and what will be the nature of those conversations? As Chris Connley recently mentioned on Bill Simmon’s podcast there is a concern that the conversations we have on our social media tend to be overly negative. For example, the Oscars. It seemed like the entire universe seemed focus on how bad James Franco and Anne Hathaway were. What unifies us isn’t the fact that we are collectively enjoying something, but rather that we collectively hate something and this too can be dangerous.
My Hope
My hope is that we don’t lose the ability to share in popular cultural as a group. It’s great that we have choices but sometimes choices can pull us apart. Hopefully we can use technology that gives us choices, but also allows us to experience things together and thus brings us together.
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