The question I am going to research is “How has the rise of the internet age affected the way we consume entertainment?” The internet has enabled new forms of entertainment to become massively popular among its users. With it, however, other forms have also fallen off as a result. Some of those industries have struggled to maintain relevancy, while others were able to adapt and retain its success. Whether the form of entertainment is prosperous or struggling, entertainment has been largely impacted by the internet. To show the internet’s effect, I will be using examples supported by numbers to show how certain forms of entertainment were able to develop because of the internet, how some adapted or maintained its popularity after the internet, and how some have declined because of the internet.
For entertainments that developed because of the internet, the main focus will be around video games and social media. Video games have become massively popular, with esports becoming popular along side the growth of video games. The video game industry has continued to grow every year and has recently came into the spotlight of traditional media, with many celebrities even investing into teams in esports. Along similar lines, social media also has had massive growth in popularity. Social media has enabled millions of people to be connected with each other from far away. With the largest platforms including Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, the influence social media has is massive. Everyday millions of concurrent users use these social media sites for their entertainment, with each user connected because of the internet. Both these forms of entertainment would most likely struggle to take off without internet access. The aspect of being able to connect others allowed these entertainment forms to quickly grow and take over entertainment that don’t have easy accessibility.
For entertainments that maintained its popularity, the main focus will be around the movie industry and live events, like concerts or sporting events. Even with the easy access to a plethora of entertainment on the internet, both these forms of entertainment were able to continue without much struggle. Live events still get packed stadiums and even more viewers back at home, while also gaining more traction through interactions on social media. They have been a staple in entertainment and still are even with the internet making changes. Live events have the aspect of the event to be a unique experience for people that can’t be replicated by the internet. The movie industry, which has similar aspects to live events, also managed to remain popular despite the internet. Movies on release are still able to garner millions with large number of viewers. They continue to make money through video streaming services like Netflix, which has grown because of the internet. Before Netflix was a video streaming service, they used to rent movies along side Blockbuster. Unlike Blockbuster, Netflix was able to adapt to the internet, ultimately become the Netflix we know today.
For entertainments that declined, the main focus will be around television and newspapers. Television was once one of the go to forms of entertainment for many. People would routinely tune into their favorite shows daily from the comfort of their home. Unfortunately, television has been replaced with the internet’s ability to give the viewer what they want whenever they want. Because of that, television has struggled to maintain the once large viewership base they once had. It is much easier to get access to entertainment through the internet than television. Along similar lines, newspapers have also declined because of the accessibility of the internet. A similar article that can be found on the newspaper can also be found on the internet, along with plenty of others from multiple news sources. This ultimately makes it difficult for newspapers to compete, as newspapers are limited in the number of stories available and, compared to the internet, isn’t as accessible.
Overall, each example provided is used to show the role of the internet on entertainment. Each industry in some way has be largely impacted because of the internet. Although what each person sees as entertainment is different, it is obvious that the internet has been a catalyst to the changes that occurred in entertainment. The changes that occurred are generally because of the instant access the internet provides, which makes it an appealing way for people to consume entertainment. Because a lot of us don’t have much free time to begin with, entertainment is something we would want to spend time on and enjoy. The internet allows us to get that feeling almost anywhere and almost instantly. In this research paper, I will be trying to find what aspects, because of the internet, led to these changes in entertainment.