Media is released and consumed through multiple different channels. These sources and channels depend highly on which demographic is targeted. In this blog we shall take a look at how different media and media channels cater to different demographics. For the sake of simplicity, I shall be focusing on age.
Upon asking our more aged family members, it is very plain to see that the type of media they consume is wildly different to ours. Just sitting behind my grandfather as he watched his morning television helped me understand this difference. Older consumers have more time and a harder time absorbing information, hence the media catering to them was much slower in pace and repetitive. For example, we often question why print news papers are a thing, and this is because we don't realise the difference in consumption patterns across age groups. Our more aged members of society need a more permanent and static form of media communication to allow them to read at their pace. Digital media catering towards the aged is usually in the form of advertisements. If you will take time to notice, the times we get up to get a snack during ad breaks is when our grandparents more keenly watch. Infomercials understand this hook and have been specifically curating offerings to appeal more to that demographic.
In retrospect, if we instead focus on those our parents age, around 40-50 years. Their major source of media consumption has become social media. Particularly Facebook. This generation tries to incorporate technology into their daily lives, however they also take it at face value. The online media comes from many different sources and is often not reliable. Major online media channels use this attraction element to reel in this demographic with clickbait titles and out of this world concepts. And it works!
Finally comes our generation, the most tech savvy and into digital media. However, statistics show that we consume the least amount of it. Traditional informative media that is. We are more geared towards faster paced entertainment and reality TV. We want to take media in our own hands and make of it what we want. However, this demographical trait is also understood by media agencies as they provide us with exactly this. Constructing a ruse for us allowing us to think that the media we consume is of our own liking and preference, but subtly feeding us that which makes us conform to the status quo of the boxes society has made, and filtering our "unique" traits to categorise us into one of them and feed us media according to it.
The media trap has been long standing and no matter how hard we try to escape from it, it always seems one step ahead to keep us in its ruse. The only way of escaping from it and forming a perception that is truly unique is to drop off the system. However, then you are labeled as an outcast and no one wants to listen to what you say. This was pointed out by Nietzche in Zarathustra. So possibly maybe even Zarathustra was accounted for by the mass media's categorisation?
This is very relatable. Many people including myself are incredibly frustrated when those double ads show up on Youtube. We constantly press the skip button and can't wait for it to end. My grandmother on the other hand, is much more used to processing information slower so she calmly waits for the ad to end so she can get on with the video. Generational difference!
The control by big media on even how we think is really scary and really makes you think about how much "freedom" we really have as producers of media ourselves
In one way or another, people of all ages are addicted to some forms of media products and it's astonishing considering the media portrayals nowadays. Good read!