“YourTube – The internet is changing television habits”

The article “YourTube – The internet is changing television habits” is about one of most popular internet viewing sites, as well as, giving predictions on the shift from watching television to watching videos and movies and television series through the internet. This can be done either using laptops or by buying a “smart-television”.

The article also talks about online videos becoming a more influential cultural force, changing what people watch and what people will talk about. The switch from television to watching via the internet will become more popular as broadband becomes faster in the not too distant future.

Watching by the internet means that you can choose the time and place to watch your favourite programs, it also ensures that you don’ miss an episode, since firms such as Sony and Intel will be launching services to deliver television programs over the internet “via” the use of “smart-televisions” (televisions that have internet incorporated). The article also talks about binge viewing becoming common which means that people can watch a whole season of their favourite program over the weekend rather than once a week over a few months. And finally it talks about the rise of the cord/nevers, which will be the public that chooses online services to watch their programs especially youngsters who will opt for cheaper online services instead of pay-television.

The language used in this article is fairly easy to understand and follow but it does use quite a bit of internet/technical jargon, therefore a reader who does not use the internet would not know what broadband, “smart-television”, Netflix services, tablets, tweeting and cord/nevers mean, just to name a few. It is obviously written for readers that firstly, use YouTube and therefore are interested in knowing the latest news on this site as well as learning what is coming up in the future since technology moves at a very fast pace. It would also interest someone who enjoys watching television and who uses the internet, especially people who want to have the latest and newest gadgets on the market to impress.

I am sure that a person of 80, who is not familiar with the internet would not be interested in reading this article and would clearly not understand everything that is written. The real reader would be teenagers and youngsters who love having all the latest information on YouTube and enjoy watching their programs within the privacy of their own room, it would also be of interest to the high-tech person who perhaps works in a store to enable them to share their knowledge with the customers and professionals who work in the television/internet industry.

The ideal reader, however, would also include the high-tech professionals but the writer would also want to catch potential customers that are interested in purchasing a “smart” television and the people who are addicted to watching television programs.

The Economist offers authoritative insight and opinion on international news, politics, business, finance, science and technology. This particular article caught my eye because I am one of the many teenagers that use YouTube for music, videos and gossip and I was interested in reading about their predictions on the way television/internet is heading. Generally I understood what the article was about but there were a couple of terms that were new to me.

Article Link: http://www.economist.com/news/21589085-internet-changing-television-habits-yourtube