(no subject)

[randomness]

Back at my parents'. One of the things I won't miss about being here is the non-stop TV news my father seems to be addicted to. The last few days have been wall-to-wall coverage of the Paris attacks. That coverage has reminded me how much I dislike TV news. From one hour to the next there's very little new information to convey, so they fill up the time by scaring their viewers.

It's a successful business model, but I don't have to like it.

What's also striking is the reminder that TV news is a mid- to late-twentieth century medium, for people whose media habits were formed back then. I mentioned to bedfull_o_books that I'm exposed to more prescription drug adverts in my few days here than I am in the whole of the rest of my life combined.

I'm not sure it's the TV that's given me a sour stomach and a headache, but it probably isn't helping.

Comments

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

OMG, your folks too? My mom watches a steady diet of MSNBC, local news, talk-news, you name it. And I feel exactly the same way you do - why watch all the time when there's no new news?

It's interesting how you cite it as a mid-to-late 20th century medium. I wonder what media habits we have that people in a younger age group would call similarly outdated?

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

It's a lot of older folks, I'm given to understand. Habits of a lifetime, I imagine.

Certainly the advertisers are well aware of this. The commercials are mostly pitched at retirees.

I wonder what media habits we have that people in a younger age group would call similarly outdated?

I think the most obvious elder media characteristic I show is that I still use a netbook instead of a smartphone to access information. This means I don't use Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, or WhatsApp. I still listen to the radio as well, instead of using iHeartRadio, Pandora or Spotify.

I did get pretty irritated at not being able to use my phone in Japan, though, so I'll probably end up getting a smartphone soon. There are no feature phones left that work with my carrier and also support the 3G networks in Japan (or South Korea). In May my phone completely ran down its battery during an overnight layover in Tokyo searching for a nonexistent 2G network so its alarm didn't go off in the morning, which made catching my flight exciting.

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. I don't think using a netbook instead of a smartphone is an elder characteristic exactly. In my work I'm focused on the 45+ audience and most of the 45-65 folks in the higher income/education bracket use smartphones to access information when on the go. The gap is that people 45-65 tend to use smartphones only when they don't have a desktop/laptop available, but the younger you go the more likely people are to use smartphones first/only.