“Digital media have in many ways changed how we consume media products”. Who do you think benefits most – consumers or producers?

Over a short period of time, the way we consume media has rapidly changed and developed to revolve around the way we live of lives. The change in consumption has enabled a larger ranged age audience to become interactive and use the media easily and more efficiently. Producers have had to keep up with the latest trends and fashion to stay in demand and to produce a profit. The traditional consumption of media has mostly declined and producers are finding it difficult to create new forms of media to keep up with the changing times.

Facebook has become a very popular website, created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. The website allows users to communicate and share pictures all over the world. The site has become so popular, with 600 million active users. Its popularity has encouraged new ways of using Facebook, such as Smartphone apps. The apps have allowed audiences to download the feature and use it effortlessly wherever they are. Facebook has become a source for obtaining the news and weather which shows the obvious declines in traditional consumption. Facebook has also been seen with negative impacts such as becoming addictive, less active and anti social. Facebook is also a new way of keeping in communication with people, resulting in old communication methods becoming extinct. The producers have benefited from Facebook by attracting many users and generating profit, $800 million in 2009.

The use of Newspapers are declining due to the new forms of media. People have now created blogs where they upload their own news for people to read, which reduces the need for newspapers. Also, Newspaper companies have now produced websites for people to read off the internet which allows audiences to recieve the interent a lot easier. The Guardian newspaper have recently released an app where people can pay £4.99 a month to recieve the newspaper on their Smartphones. The benefits the consumer gets is they have no need to buy a Newspaper from the shop which takes time and money, recieving their news on their phones is a more efficient and reliable way. On the other hand, producers are finding it difficult to cope with the Newspaper decline where they’re losing out on profit and having to cut jobs because they’re no need for extra journalists.

This generation has become more online active and revolve mainly around the computer. This has become apparant as television views have reduced due to the creation of BBCi player and 4OD. This online television viewing allows audiences to watch programmes they enjoy or have missed on the television. They can be viwed whenever and however many times. This has allowed audiences to create their own schedule which best suits them. This is also the same for Sky+ where audiences feel more in power and makes them happy.

To conclude, i believe audiences benefit mostly from the change in the way we consume media because things have been developed to revolve around our lives and to make things easier for us as consumers. Producers also benefit but only eith profit.