Interactive Media
Categories: Tech
What do we do when we turn on the tube (other than cringe)? We watch TV shows.
What do we do when we turn on the radio? We listen to music.
The common thread here is that our participation is very passive: we watch, we listen...but we don’t necessarily participate in the programming.
Contrast this with interactive media, which is media where we do participate, and that participation changes our experience. Basically, “interactive media” is defined as any type of media that responds to our commands and presents something to us as a result of those commands. “That sounds like pretty much everything,” some might say, and it’s true: interactive media is becoming more and more prevalent every day. Video games are an obvious example—we press the button and our avatar jumps around and...does stuff. But there are many, many other examples.
The banking app that shows us recent payment history when we select a certain option. The financial portal that allows us to execute stock trades from the comfort of our phone. The paint retailer that allows us to upload a pic of our bedroom so we could see how it would look if we painted it bright purple (answer: frightening). The online quiz that asks us five questions and then tells us what kind of shoe we are and where we should retire.
Interactive media is everywhere, and even though some of its applications might not be life-changing (what do we do with the knowledge that we are an espadrille?), many of them have made our lives a whole heck of a lot easier and more convenient.