Some of us are not like the other
About fifteen years ago, I was a child sitting on the shaggy living room carpet engrossed by children’s programs like Elmo, Caillou, and Clifford. I would later learn that these shows, among many others, were targeted for kids like me at specific times networks assumed we’d be watching. The same went for network news. My interest in news developed on that same shaggy living room carpet. When the clock struck 6:30 p.m., the television in my household was switched from whatever me or my siblings had on to the nightly news. This was non-negotiable. My eyes were glued to the screen, completely fascinated by the newsgathering process and how one could figure out what was happening all over the world through a television screen. I had not yet realized that the companies who worked to deliver that news did not treat every pair of eyes as equal. I, virtually unknowable to the television industry as I sat in front of the screen, could only become more valuable if I acted as a multiplier and passed along what I learned to my social networks.
Years displaced from my shaggy living room carpet, I have not had to rely on the trusty television in my living room to provide me with entertainment and information in a long time. My move from the appointment-based model to the engagement-based model began on my computer screen. Now, I have more options to consume an almost dizzying amount of information than I could have ever imagined — whether it be on my laptop or iPhone. The glory that comes with the internet is the simple fact that is easier to be active and engage than ever before. Nowadays, you have to try to not be a part of the conversation. I choose what to consume at my leisure. That autonomy poses a problem for media companies who are trying to spread their content.
While monitoring my media habits for a day, I realized that I engaged with content every hour I wasn’t in class. I started my day with theSkimm and read through the digestible pieces of the biggest stories in the world. However, I did not click on any of the links leading to more in-depth reads. Most of my time throughout my day was spent flipping through headlines on Twitter, Reddit, and Apple News. I would often save posts to read later and I’d also screenshot headlines of articles I thought my friends would enjoy and passed them along. I constantly used my iPhone, but I found myself on the same platforms on my laptop when I wanted the luxury of a larger screen. While my iPhone is convenient, my laptop allows me to engage more deeply because it easier to bounce back and forth from tab to tab. Larger screens are easier on my eyes and it is much quicker for me to type, browse, share, and repeat. The content I engaged the most with were a Freakonomics podcast and a Philip DeFranco Youtube video. With these, I spent at least 20 minutes and shared the information along to my friends. Podcasts and Youtube videos are part of my daily routine. They teach me different subjects and the way they’re formatted makes it feel as if you are listening to a friend speak to you. The easily digestible information then becomes just as easy to regurgitate.
My actions reflect the participatory culture of media today. I found myself engaging with podcasts and relevant news videos the most because they were interesting, informative, and had a younger, more commonplace voice that I could relate to. These cultural activators gave me something to do, which propelled me to constantly send along media to my friends — whether they be recommendations or something that made me say, “Woah! You have to check this out.” Likewise, they also sent me media throughout the day. I responded to everything they sent me and they brought up a lot of great topics of conversation. If attention is a type of currency in media models, my eyes and actions are adding economic value to the content I shared. Since I am receiving a plethora of information, I am returning the favor by acting as a multiplier and sharing what I like. However, companies still must work to not only cater to my needs, but to others as well. They must improve how they listen to their audience and truly understand their motivations for spreading their content. After all, a share does not equate to an in-depth read. Our eyes are not equal because our actions are not equal. In today’s realm of media options, very few of us take in our news from shaggy living room carpets. Now, we have entirely new system of weights and measures to understand value. In this system, everything we do, like viewing, sharing, clicking, and spreading the word all count.
