Technology Has Changed The Way We Watch Film and TV
Distracted viewing has become the norm.
Take a second, and think about the following hypothetical situation I am about to describe, and whether or not it is a situation you have ever found yourself in.
You are watching a movie, or perhaps a TV show, for the very first time. It could be an old movie that you’ve never gotten around to viewing, like Raging Bull or Goodfellas or any other Martin Scorsese masterpiece. Or, just as likely, it’s the latest Netflix series that everyone has been rabidly obsessing over. Think Stranger Things, or the new A Series of Unfortunate Events.
While watching whatever you’ve chosen, your wandering mind is also telling you to thumb through Instagram’s explore page (otherwise known as one of the most detrimental spaces for productivity known to mankind).
Before you even realize, five minutes of your show, or movie, have passed you by, because you dropped into a meme-filled black hole. In turn, you now have no idea what happened during those five minutes, so you do one of two things: rewind the show, to try and recapture what you’ve missed; or decide you can live without those five minutes, but vow to devote your attention (or at least try) to the remainder of the show.
The next day, or the next week, you have a conversation with a friend about the show. You talk in depth about it. You talk with an aura of intellectualism. You talk about it, despite the glaring fact that there are points of the show that you didn’t properly absorb, because your mind was busy halfheartedly reading an article on your phone about Donald Trump’s America, while also trying to watch the TV show.
87 per cent of TV watchers admit to doing this. If you’re part of the 13 per cent that doesn’t admit to being somewhat distracted while watching TV/film, you are either (a) a liar, or (b) someone who adores TV/film in a different way, most likely because you in some manner practice the art of television/filmmaking, and so you relate to it in a unique and more philosophical level than the average film viewer as a result. But even those people are likely to respond to the occasional text message while watching a new movie they’ve been anticipating.
This is an experience I have both unconsciously and consciously practiced many times. And as I’ve increasingly noticed it happening, a disheartening feeling has settled in on me. The act of picking up our phones or laptops, and trying to multitask even though we shouldn’t be, has become as commonplace as drinking water.
So why, and how, exactly has this generation normalized the act of watching what I refer to as “background entertainment”? And is it something that can be fixed, or is it bound to just progressively get worse?
There are a few things one can point to in an effort to explain why it’s harder than ever to properly watch TV and film in full. Some of these reasons are obvious, and some less so.
The obvious explanation lies in the rise of what has become known as the ADD generation (otherwise known as the Millennial generation, ha). We have seen the introduction and expansion of the internet, smartphones and laptops, and video games far more complex than PONG.
In turn, our attention spans have responded by shrinking dramatically. It affects more than just viewing film and television too. Our rice grain-sized attention spans have a negative impact on our ability to digest any and all mediums, as well as our capacity to hold and carry simple, everyday conversation.
This New York Times article from last year showed that our attention spans have shrunken from 12 seconds to just eight in the past 15 years. This, miraculously, is a shorter attention span than that of a goldfish. So, keep in mind that we now have less ability to pay attention to an entire episode of a TV show than our friend Nemo does (who is actually a clownfish, but you get the point).
But this is something that most people already more or less know. Anyone who hasn’t completely grown up surrounded by technology (something the generations under us will sadly never be able to comprehend) realizes that attention spans have been shrinking since the dawn of the millennium.
Another reason, and one that is probably contemplated less than what I just mentioned, is how the act of watching new film or TV is less appreciated now more than ever before. Not in the sense that we, as viewers, watch film today and are not impressed in the same way we may have been 10 or 20 years ago. But in the sense that these forms of entertainment are more accessible than ever. Basically, overindulgence has lead to under-appreciation.
When I was a kid, watching a new movie or TV show was a literal event. I would have to go to Blockbuster (R.I.P.) and rent a movie, or go to the theatre, or wait until the TV premier of a movie that had come out a year prior. For TV, I would have to wait a week, with glorious anticipation, to see a new episode of whatever show I was currently watching. And when I would watch, the only time my eyes would lose focus on the screen were during my sporadic blinks.
With the introduction of Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, and (insert streaming service or OnDemand service here), coupled with the freedom to watch these services on whatever platform we choose, this feeling has been almost entirely diminished.
Whereas viewers were once forced to wait for new entertainment, now an endless supply of it is at everyone’s disposal. There is enough content on Netflix to binge-watch for roughly four years (trust me, I did the math), and that’s without accounting for all the new content that would be added over the course of that time.
So, if we are able to watch all this entertainment, why wouldn’t we in our spare time? It’s like saying no to an endless supply of candy.
And if we are doing it so much (over 100 million hours of Netflix TV and Video are consumed per day), then how couldn’t we become desensitized? These streaming services, and the ability to watch them on our televisions, laptops, tablets, phones, or whatever, take away from the unique experience of watching a new piece of art.
So with the thought in our heads that, after this TV show I can just move on to the next one, why wouldn’t we feel comfortable picking up our phones and trying to multitask for a bit, even if it is detrimental?
Technology has given us a world of entertainment viewing. And while most see it as an absolute privilege, the truth is that if not harnessed properly, it might actually be harming our viewing process.
So, what can be done to combat the comfort we are settling into in this “background entertainment” generation? I don’t really know, and honestly we might already be past the point of distraction-free viewing, but nonetheless, here are a couple of ideas.
First, we all must be consciously aware. This might be the hardest step. Human beings are only becoming more and more linked with technology, so having the awareness to step away from your phone for an hour or two whilst watching whatever form of entertainment you choose might actually be a pretty difficult task. Seriously. With the feeling for some that your phone keeps you constantly connected to the world, disconnecting is easier said than done.
Also, try to keep an appreciative perspective when viewing. Instead of thinking, “What will I watch next?” before we’ve even finished the TV show we’re on, consider what is currently being watched. Just because we have a seemingly endless supply of viewing content, doesn’t mean we need to always be watching something. Pick and choose. Instead of watching film and TV like a 2004–05 version of Kobe (erratically and in great volume), do so like the 2012–13 version of LeBron James (efficiently, and free of distraction).
If we can do these things, or at least try to do them, the proper viewing experience for film and television might just be restored. One free of distractions. At least until the next technological innovation.
