created, $=dv.current().file.ctime & modified, =this.modified
tags:mediatelevision
NOTE
Exploring tradeoffs to the granularity of control in our media. I think our decisions to watch what we want, on our own time is good - rather than being fed things. Still there is a retroactive appeal to lack of interruption. Maybe there’s a case to be made of revisiting this in pieces. Instead of being fed traditional television, we can force ourselves to engage with meaningful selected media but giving up some control of playback or “developments”
Are some people getting sick of options, and choice and ease?
I wonder if there will be a return in the youngest generations in response.
My own decision is to continue to make my own decisions as much as possible, and explore and refine my tastes.
In the “past” community dominant technology :
- The radio: producing sounds we do not have control over. We can change stations on a macro level, but even the track name or artist is often unknown.
- The film in a movie theater: The length of time remaining of the movie isn’t known as concretely. There isn’t a timeline which you can scrub in, or adjust speed. Everyone watches without skips, straight to the end.
- The television: with similarity to both the above and divided into channels.
- A live concert, there is no track skip.
- A play, seen once. Might not be recorded.
- Blockbuster, and a physical library
- Reading a book
Control has shifted inward, and more on the user - who caters to themselves with media decision.
- Watching Youtube, feels solitary for the most part
- Listening to a Spotify playlist, or music in earphones
- Laptop or Computer film consumption patterns
- A collection of MP3s
- A digital film library
Comment on an application which provides television-like experience to Youtube.
The best part of this is the channel doesn’t pause when you flip away from it. It is always “running” and if you flip away you will miss it. That builds in a FOMO trade-off which causes user to automatically/subconciouslysciously decide on channel they most want to watch, because they can’t watch everything.
Just going to the next channel, is like a switch in the brain. I don’t use television, and don’t own one (not against it or anything as rule, and I’ll still watch TV but download it.) It’s nostalgic.
There also is a relaxation that comes from this loss of control. When you are always making media decisions, this device does it for us.
This is perhaps why a lot of people unwind the television to this day.