Television and its’ content has definitely changed over the last decade or so. Before, we paid $100 or more in cable each month. Now, we have advanced to streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc) and it seems to be the preferred method of watching television. As the article “The Future of TV: Digital, Traditional and Something In Between” states, viewers are now in control by being able to watch shows on any device besides a television. We also have the navigation experience and “smart” remotes such as the Roku. Digital TV is data-driven, and traditional TV benefits from that by using digital TV’s tricks. Advertising is an especially powerful tool because television is the largest market for it. It will be able to reach millions of people.
People use streaming services more than ever because it is kind of like customizing your own TV schedule. Cable television is always run on a specific schedule/air time, while streaming is on-the-go or readily available for viewing. Plus, it has different content than a regular television network. It can be more web based because you can connect to Youtube or other video-content sites.
To answer the question, I think reality television has changed the ways we view human connection because it puts people under a microscope and gives a glimpse into what their lives are like. Much of reality television is scripted, however, so it’s also almost like watching an altered reality. It can show the good, the bad and the ugly sides of people. Since it is “reality”, we automatically connect to the people on these shows whether we really believe who they are or not. It also can make us compare each other more often. We look at these reality shows full of celebrities or wannabes, and think about how their lives are compared to other, more “normal” people. It is easy to be influenced by reality shows because after all, they’re trying to be “real”.
