Will the Internet Kill Television - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages Since the internet began to get a foothold among the younger members of our society, television watching has slowly seen a decline in its demographic. With teenagers opting to spend more of them viewing time online due to the vast variety of available viewing material and the ease with which they can access the same. The constantly evolving faces of the computer has allowed teenagers and people in general, to bring their entertainment with them on the road, never missing an episode of their favorite program or the premier of a much awaited and talked about show. The internet has in effect, changed the television landscape as we know it. This paper will use the most up to date information culled from scholarly sources that will help me to shed light of the question “Will the internet Kill Television?” Using a variety of factual data, I will attempt to bring discussion closer to those involved for a better understanding of the topic. In conclusion, I will make a prediction about how I see the viewing habits of people 10 years from now and if it will still involve television viewing, or a dominance of internet viewing instead. 1. What does scholarly research have to say about teenagers and the amount of television they watch? Will these trends broaden to include other demographic groups? Experts have said that up until 2008, teenagers have spent an unhealthy amount of time in front of the television. During this period of time, teenagers were observed to have been spending more than 30 hours of their time daily watching the boob tube. Longer exposure time to television screens were also seen to have spiked during the high school years of these individuals. Tracie A. Barnett, PhD., who led the observational study in 2008 explains that: “Boys and those whose parents had lower educational attainment were much more likely to be in the 'high-screen time' group. Teens with high levels of screen time may be at increased risk of obesity“ (American Heart Association n. pag.). This was the analysis that her team concluded after observing 1,293 students in Montreal high schools. The study was conducted using a combination of surveys and questionnaires four times a year covering a span of 5 years. These figures have changed over the past 4 years though. By the time 2012 rolled around, the European Travel Commission TrendWatch indicated that there was a significant shift in the television viewing habits of teens. They were now more preoccupied with watching internet based content than television streamed content. This is attributed to the increasing shortening attention span of most teenagers today. Their data indicates that these teens are connected 24/7 and being constantly online has changed the way that they use their television screen time (“Demographics” n. pag.): 23% of all teens (aged 13 to 17) own a tablet, 27% when it comes to girl - 80% own a computer - 78% own a cellphone and 37% a smartphone. It was noted in the study however, that the “hyperconnected generation” as their generation has become known, gains a positive influence from being more connected to their computer screens than their television screens. Although concerns about becoming gadget independent, shallow consumers of information, and instant gratification, which were also concerns raised by experts when television was first beginning to gain a foothold in our society, still exists and does not show ...Download file to see next pagesRead More