Popularity of "New" media consumption vs "Old" media and insights for (digital) educators

Popularity of "New" media consumption vs "Old" media and insights for (digital) educators
by
Goh Poh Sun (first draft, 5 January 2016 @ 1930hrs)

What explains the popularity of streaming movies and television (like "Netflix"), streaming music (like "Apple Music"), as well as online news sites and video sites (like "YouTube"), compared to terrestrial broadcast television, broadcast radio, newspapers, and traditional visits to the movie theatre?

[What about the popularity of "cloud" storage solutions (like "Dropbox")?]

I believe the key idea is access and accessibility, of engaging and useful content, "on demand". The ability to exercise personal choice of what digital content to view and consume, how much to view, as well as choice of time, place, setting and digital device/platform.

The ability to access digital content for not only entertainment, but also to keep up to date on the latest news, and educational content "on demand" on any personal mobile device linked to the internet is part of the day to day experience for many, and increasingly so for larger audiences worldwide with the proliferation of internet enabled devices, and increasing internet speeds and bandwidth, both fixed and mobile.

Despite this, there is still a role for print, books, live teaching through lectures and presentations, attending live performances, and live small group meetings and discussions. At these times, we focus, allocate time and "undivided" attention, are physically and "mentally" present. Traditional media, like traditional teaching uses less of our "working memory", presents information at a slower pace, with not only smaller amounts of information, but less choice (between multiple types and formats of digital content - static, interactive and video based), and gives us a little more time and space to pause and reflect on material, and engage in dialogue and discussion.

Ideally we blend the best of both.