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Gaming Communities Cause Of TV Ratings Decline?
Bendebecker writes "We all know about the falling popularity of television this season, but Mike Malone of ABC News has a very interesting viewpoint on why this is happening. He seems to think that the growing popularity of online gaming communities (the example he gives is Counter-Strike) are causing the decline, which is particularly noticeable among the young male demographic."
my guess is the internet is somewhere on top of the list... that includes multiuser games and, ofcourse , pr0n! the target demografic, i.e. males 18-24, are more interested in unlimited pr0n than sitcomes....
now ratings would WNBA get if they'd played without panties?....
Just because I don't care, it doesn't mean I don't understand. Homer J. Simpson
There used to be a sense of connection with other people after watching a popular show. I could talk about a show with my friends at school -- but rarely can we all actively do the same thing at the same time anymore (such as watch the same shows). This is compounded by the fact we've seen it all, and the stuff we haven't seen is just something better experienced on our own.
TV just isn't exciting. I can see how hard they're trying to make it exciting by using shock value -- it won't help in the end. I don't care what other stupid actors/actresses and common blow joe on reality TV is doing. These people are idiots, why should I try to live my life through these idiots?
I'd rather play a game than watch TV. At least I'm taking charge of my interaction. I can also talk to other people while doing it. I can IM my friends and hook up a game whenever we have the time.
I never understood why people watch sports. Why watch basketball when I can play basketball? But it goes even further with videogames. We can participate in things we can't do in real life; whether it's using magic in an RPG, racing a car in a simulation, or doing a rocket jump in an FPS. We can express our laughs and frustration througha quick text message.
In order for me to consider watching TV again, TV needs to supply images and information I can't get online. It needs to provide entertainment beyond the mindless reused crap on air currently. TV is not tailored like the internet. Having 100 channels of commericials is not what I want to spend my time on. Fitting my schedule around a show that actually has some meaning is something I could have most likely read on the internet.
There used to be a connection with TV, and it's pretty much dead. TV is my last resort in how I spend my time. I don't own a TV or listen to the radio -- after using the internet, they both seem to be just drawing me further away from the connection I want to have to information and my friends.
If someday the internet was to vanish, there would always be a good book and a telephone.