Upon reflecting on the nature of this course, and thinking about having such a networked and interconnected society, my mind was taken to how the Internet has really affected every facet of our lives, and I contemplated how it has really revolutionised the way in which we view television.
With forums like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and various different websites and blogs, a real sense of community has been integrated with the activity of watching television, especially in the last 7 or so years. I’m thinking specifically from my personal experience and how I eagerly await the final season of ‘Breaking Bad’ with a group of fans on twitter who I have never met and I only know by finding them through their #breakingbad hash tags. Or even with shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ which has garnered a massive cult following, and while I enjoy the show I’m not obsessed with it, yet I still find myself downloading and watching it the second a torrent of the latest episode is released merely to be able to be included with the vast amount of conversations happening on social media after the episode has aired.
On the subject of downloading (albeit illegally), it has added a whole new marvellous dimension to the way in which we consume television in the sense that audiences around the world are experiencing the show simultaneously allowing debate and conversation to run rampant throughout the interwebs.
Anyway I better stop before my thought processes get the best of me, and so I can go watch the latest episode of ‘True Blood’ so I can have a rant about how ridiculous the show has become on Twitter later.