In the blog of week 2, my interviewee mentioned television watching during his childhood. At that time all the family sat in the lounge watching television. Besides this, neighbours and their friends came and watch the television show “Batman”. Visiting somebody’s home and watch television was also a form of social gathering in the 1960’s.
In the 1970’s of Hong Kong, the trend of all the family sat in the lounge and watch television still exist, especially for some episodes and the evening news. However, television became affordable to most families and no subscription fee was required in wireless broadcasting later. There was no need to go to someone else’s home to watch television and audience become localized mainly in family bases rather than grouping audience from different families to interact with one another.
When video cassette recorder (VCR) become popular in the 1980’s, it became rare for a family sat in the lounge and watch television together. Television shows and episodes can be recorded and watch later that no one in the family would missed. With more inexpensive and compact in size, some families had extra television set in their room rather than the only one locating in the lounge. Furthermore, audience can rent video cassette tapes from rental shops for some television shows and movies that were later replaced with VCDs and DVDS.
My interviewee was on the internet in the early 1990’s in Hong Kong, but it became more popular in the late nineties. Television shows and movies downloading through the internet became a trend in 2000’s as subscribers are unlimited to download and internet usage was without constraint with speed shaping. Usually, there was more than one desktop personal computer in most family that individual members could watch television shows replays through the computer while leaving the lounge deserted after dinning.
With the advancement of mobile technology and available of mobile internet, television watching has become a personal activity that one can do it anytime anywhere when condition permits (Erichson, 2009). Computer monitors once replacing television sets in bedrooms are in turned deserted as its flexibility and convenience cannot match to that of mobile phones. This allowed people to join other different activities and it was unnecessary for members of a family sat in the lounge to watch television.
Video streaming from television top boxes have provided alternative for those non-computer users. Entertainment provider like Netflix once predominate the local market of cable television and video rental business is now expanding overseas (Spangler, 2016). Besides, there are many varieties of entertainments offered through the internet. As a whole, traditional television watching has declined (Crupi, 2015).
At first, television brought different families together, besides family member of the same house. With the advancement of technology, audiences in families are separated and delocalised to watch anytime anywhere. Notwithstanding this, the media space by means of internet today allows groups of people interact together, even when they are not present in the same place and time. Television audience of a show from the internet can leave their comments or discussing with one another who are strangers in the cyber space. These audiences, whether are in the same place and time or not, are interact more efficient than traditional television in those days when audience could only express their opinion in newspapers or television magazines as a form of interaction.
However, under this new media space, are audience becoming so mean to interact with their families?
References:
Crupi, A. (2015). Returning Broadcast Shows Suffer a 25% Ratings Drop. Advertising Age. Retrieved from: http://adage.com/article/media/returning-broadcast-tv-shows-suffer-ratings-drop/300786/
Erichson, S. (2009). Ondemand online, TV everywhere and what it means for audience measurement. Nielsen. Retrieved from: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2009/ondemand-online-tv-everywhere-and-what-it-means-for-audience-measurement.html
Spangler, T. (2016). Netflix Hits 75 Million Streaming Subscribers on Strong Overseas Growth. Variety. Retrieved from: http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/netflix-hits-75-million-streaming-subscribers-stock-jumps-1201683114/
🌈 Shirley Ma ☀ 