Societal Impacts

What will be the impact of the third generation of TV? This chapter addresses both the positives and negatives of the emerging media system. The impacts of the new media system can be differentiated by their economic, social, and personal dimensions. Media use will move from passive consumption to active experience that enhances life. Similarly, content diversity and creativity will be enormously increased; socialization and education will be improved; innovation will flourish; and culture and politics will become more open. The economic positives include rapidly upgraded communications infrastructure and technology that can be utilized for many other applications; and opportunities for new entrants and startups. The negatives of cloud-TV include declining consumer privacy and data security; shortening attention spans; an intermingling of fantasy and reality; and a blurring separation between work life and private sphere. Social fragmentation is increasing as people share fewer common experiences, interaction, and baseline news. Other trends include an acceleration of cultural change; the weakening of national culture; the proliferation of anti-social content; the strengthening of tools of political and marketing persuasion; the intensification of the communications process and a growing sensationalism; the further rise of a money-dominated political process; and, especially, global market power in media.