Social Media and Television - Research Paper Example

Social media and Television This is a research paper done with an aim of establishing the extent to which the social media is incorporated into the traditional TV programs. The paper aims at ascertaining whether the social media incorporation has changed the way in which traditional TV programs are presented, whether a change has been embraced in the content of the TV programs and whether the new trends are positive or negative with regards to social structures. Recommendations will be made at the end of the paper to be useful to the TV programs and home based consumers of the Social TV programs. Introduction Social media are not old in the technology arena, yet it has overtaken very many traditional programs and systems, which do not use technology of the modern time. Computers have developed so drastically that within a very short span one can barely survive without the aid of computers. It is through these computers based, and Internet enabled programs that the analogue world is nearly literally shaken off the market. Television programs have always been aired, and people have watched them with diligence and pathos (Shepatin, 50). News anchors and news reporters have always presented their programs using the analogue systems without any heaviness of the heart since there was no option. On the contrary, no news anchor would be comfortable with the systems used just some ten or so years ago especially in the developed world. The good news is that, despite the harassment from the digital world, the managers and owners of the beautiful old systems have embraced the digital era, and in many ways have improved their systems to engage the minds of the youth and the technically oriented population. Thus, the world has been made a small village by the ease of communication and more so the ability to get instant feedback even when a program is being aired (Atkinson, 123). The Social media effect Social media refers to all media, which promote social interactions. These include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, Flickr, VK, Instagram, MySpace, Tagged, MeetUp, Cafemom, DeviantArt and many others (Papacharissi, 5). Some of these services such as Facebook and twitter were perceived as informal ways of interacting and had no real value in proper message conveyance. The same have become very useful in communication. Meetings of high orders have been held in Facebook and LinkedIn; many scholarly materials in video or print form are being shared on these sites, and many great ideas are being exchanged on the very web pages. It is on these web sites that modern technology is met. These include the advertisements of new products in the market, new job opportunities, the next big event in a field or region regarding a group, weddings, church based meetings and many more. The engagement levels in the social media automatically outwit the controlled engagement on the traditional TV programs, which are not interactive at all. Instead of watching a performer on TV, young and informed people would prefer watching the same performer on YouTube and get responses from other friends about the music or the talk being watched (Silverman, 156). At the same time, the computers and smart phones are enabling the viewers to multi task by engaging many chat options and reaching a vast majority instantly. Thus, the social media and its encroachment into the TV and communication world had to be handled with care to engage the usefulness while spending time proportionally. It is on this line of argument that the managers of the TV stations and inventors of programs borrowed the idea of incorporating social media into the TV news programs and other interesting programs whether they are educative, entertaining, or just informative. Literature review During this year-2013, concerns have risen on how to incorporate as many social media into the TV programs. An initiative was started whose intention was to make TV shows more interactive and appealing to the social media users in an attempt to capture them back to TV watching (Kitchen, 33). References to Facebook and Twitter have become common on TV programs by using hashtag at the bottom of the screen (Kitchen, 34). Taking the instance of the TV program called Dancing with the Stars; several live Tweets have been seen on the screen as the dancers perform their dancing. Facebook has also been involved in the same program. In this case, the hashtag pops up in the form of a question asking who the next buzz winner will be among the dancers. The responses are usually given there and then in analyzed form based on the gander, region and in some cases the exact opinions are shown. This has been done severally by DWTS producers. During the week running through 15th October 2013, the prediction of the winner was projected at Nye Bill by online voters, and the results were confirmed though the performer was in the bottom of the list. He was saved by the online votes. Another case of Syfy’s Face-Off was reported about the same time and the results indicate that the tweets from different twitters are useful in determining the destiny of many programs. The satisfaction level attained by the immediate feedback from the TV programs is the driving force behind TV watching. In East Africa, the Tusker Project Fame, which combines the regional musicians, is aired on Citizen TV. The fans respond by voting on twitter, and the short message services, and the winner is eventually found. While the fans enjoy the music, they also participate in online social media chat, which the youth enjoy most (socialmediatoday.com). In the year 2011, a hashtag was created by MTV prior to Lady Gaga’s performance asking what she would wear on the next presentation during the video music award event. A huge following was also realized on Twitter account created by CNN, which was linked to Piers Morgan Tonight. The Tweets added up to 4,500 in a single following. The popular American show called The Voice has commanded a large following due to the simple fact that the management allowed the integration of Social TV ideas. The singing contest has live tweets, which keep the viewers following the program, and enjoying their comments by receiving responses from other commentators (Lee, 76). The host usually posts a hashtag to the audience with a question and allows the responses through Tweeter and Facebook. Other ways of participating include the use of text messages and purchasing of the iTunes of the songs presented. In general, established data shows that when a tweet is used on the screen, it commands a huge following as compared to a hashtag. Analysis The use of social media in TV programs is acceptably good idea. It has attracted many viewers back to TV watching, and as has been pointed out in the literature review above, a vast majority will watch TV programs if they are captivating and more involving as compared to one in which the viewer is only a recipient of the messages. Nevertheless, there are a few issues associated with the concept of Social TV, which need to be addressed, or at least viewers be made aware of them since they have impacts upon the viewers. One of the issues is the dependency on TV programs for consolation, companionship and comfort through the process commonly referred to as Social Surrogacy Hypothesis (DeWall, 234). The hypothesis proposes that when an individual is dejected or is in a low self-esteem condition, they should engage in watching their most loved programs. If the programs are interactive, the individual finds a companion, and the mutual friends created on TV balance the feelings of loneliness and dejection. Such cater for introverts for since they learn more by being silently involved in the programs. The programs can also be watched to reduce stress levels by bringing in joy and laughter even after a heated debate. Another positive influence of social media in TV is that it is educative. The education gained through this method is equivalent to social learning by vicarious means. The content learned sinks deep into the memory since the interaction is captivating and thus reinforcing retention of the leant content. Given that most TV programs are educative and informative in nature, a learner is more advantaged if their most cherished programs are also in line with their education endeavors (Strange & Bennet, 234). There are some negative aspects of the social TV programs. The media are only as good as they can go, but a number of negative influences can also be identified. The social media has made globalization a possibility. It is true that some social values are more appreciated in some parts of the world while are considered negative in other parts. Therefore, the language used in the social media responses and postings some of which find their way into the TV screens may not be universally acceptable. In exception of religion based programs and official news and academic materials, pure social articles have their evils grooved in the wording and mind set of the commentators. Apart from the moral decay of the societies, having an individual glued to a TV program consistently generates an addiction for the same and thus becomes a habit. One might think that they are resolving their social problems by viewing TV programs. On the other hand, they are only subjecting themselves to frustrations, and short-lived joy offered by the TV actors. This makes an individual to avoid real life solutions such as making real friends and being realistic with the day to day living (Papacharissi, 5). Conclusion Social media has gone deep into the TV programs and it is been used to promote the programs. The social media has changed the mode of presentation of programs on TVs and has brought many changes to the TV program researches. Based on the awareness that viewers will respond to the programs live, the editors have taken their work more seriously, and no shoddy work is presented. The following of tweets and Facebook comments has been a major milestone in the development of quality and up to date TV programs. It is also established that direct Twitter handling is easily followed than hashtags. The changes enjoyed by the new technology has brought with it negative effects on the viewers. These effects can be felt in the society, and the weight is given to the negative impacts on the society’s moral standards. Most societies in the world are humble and less vulgar in language and mannerism with respect to sexuality. Unfortunately, there are those societies, which wallow in the harlotry and do not know the difference therein. Such societies have created a negative effect on the calm societies by exposing their members to pornography in spoken form, print form and even in video forms. Other effects include drug use and music, which is not palatable to some societies. Recommendations Based on the totality of this matter; the following recommendations have been put forth to enable the TV programmers and viewers utilize the new idea of social media encroachment correctly. The TV programs should be as interactive as possible The programmers should use direct tweets and text message services alongside the hashtags The TV programs viewed on national TVs should not contain any content that violates any human right The programs that contain hard contents should be identified and warnings given prior to their presentations Children should have their TV show times apart from the general TV watching hours such as news hour The TV channels, which host sports and athletics, should be more interactive. This will facilitate easy management of the views of the audience, and make decisions based on the quality comments The TV directors should specify the extent of commenting in terms of purity of language Penalties should be pegged on improper posting and posting which violates a cord of ethic in a given setup Works Cited Atkinson, Cliff. The Backchannel: How Audiences are Using Twitter and Social Media and Changing Presentations Forever. Hartford, CT: New Riders, 2009 DeWall, Nathan. The Oxford Handbook of Social Exclusion. Wellesley Street Auckland : Oxford University Press, 2013 Kitchen, Philip. The Dominant Influence of Marketing in the 21st Century: The Marketing Leviathan. North Beach: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 Lee, Nelly. Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness. New York: Springer, 2013 Papacharissi, Zizi. A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites. Sandton City: Routledge, 2010 Shepatin, Stacey. Social TV: How Marketers Can Reach and Engage Audiences by Connecting Television to the Web, Social Media, and Mobile. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2012 Silverman, Scott. Creating Community Online: The Effects of Online Social Networking Communities on College Students' Experiences. How Can Student Affairs Professionals Best Respond to this Emergent Phenomenon. California: ProQuest, 2007 Socialmediatoday. 5 Top TV Shows Killing It With Social Media. Vewed on 22nd November 2013 from http://socialmediatoday.com/rocketpost/1811151/5-top-tv-shows-killing-it-social- media Strange, Niki and Bennet, James. Television as Digital Media. Chapel Hill, NC : Duke University Press, 2011 Read More