During the majority of my life we
have been entering deeper into the Age of the Internet. TV used to be the main
source of media and entertainment but now everything is changing. This can be
for multiple reasons but I think that advertisements very much contributed to TV's downfall.
I agree that maybe as the years
have passed, the once equally benefitting relationship between the advertisers
and the entertainers, has shifted. It does seem like the media is starting to
become more concerned with attracting advertisers than the content they’re
supposed to be providing. Why else would I see more commercials than the actual
program I’m watching? I can barely tolerate watching one of my favorite shows New
Girl on TV anymore. It is just a 20 to 25 minute show and yet it runs for an
hour. There are more minutes of advertisements than there is content.
The Internet, however, became a
magical place where one could watch a TV show for free with the number of ads
decreasing significantly. One reason the Internet is so appealing is that the
ads don’t really interfere with what we are doing. They appear, usually in a
side bar like on Facebook or Youtube. Unfortunately, the advisors have caught
up with everyone else.
Many have probably noticed that
advertisements are getting a little more aggressive. This is happening with
every site: Pandora, Hulu, etc. When I go on Youtube, it used to just be some
ads on the side, easily ignored. Now, there are video advertisements that force
you to wait for the video. Out of ten videos that I watched, I saw two
advertising videos and about 13 sidebar ads. If you stop watching a video just
to skip the ad, they’ll punish you by giving you a longer ad in the next video.
As I understand it, advertising videos only occur for paid Youtuber’s videos. The
Youtubers can choose against it like the Vlogbrothers channel has. However, the
penalty is that the creators will now make about five times less money (per view)
than the average Youtuber. Obviously, most Youtubers don’t take this route and
more and more we’re all suffering through the same ads again and again.
This worries me. I honestly don’t
mind some ads here and there. They’re necessary in order for us to have access
to content for free. Yet, the advertisers always manage to take it a step too
far. It seems like maybe soon, entertainment and media from the Internet will also
be supporting advertising, rather than whatever they were meant to in the first
place.
Julia, I really like this post. I like that you have used evidence from multiple sources. This gives you much more credibility and proves that you really understand the issue. I agree, about three years ago, we all turned to the internet for entertainment because the internet had fewer ads. This does not appear to be the case anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe only part of this post that confuses me is the part about Youtube. I do not really understand what you are trying to tell me. I spend a fair amount of time on Youtube, but I am not familiar with "paid Youtuber's videos." What does this mean? In the next sentence, you write "The Youtubers can choose against it..." What is "it." I was really interested in this part, because I thought I was going to learn something. Unfortunately, your explanation is a confusing. Other than these few sentences, the rest of your post is great. Thanks.