We are happy to share a guest blog from one of our Digital Day partner organizations, Elefteria Xekalakis Matthys from Admeira, addressing one of the Digital Day themes: Media & News
Digitalisation is bringing about major changes in the media sector. Content is no longer consumed only on the radio, television and newspapers but on virtually any device and from various sources, regardless of time and place. In the next five years, media use will continue to shift to the digital age and will become more and more mobile. Our recent study on media use demonstrates this as well as other key findings.
We are now used to our smartphones and tablets, and these devices have more and more functionalities. A phone is no longer just a phone, it’s a control centre. Lights and ventilation systems can be controlled through your smartphone. Apps can show us what’s in our fridge and create grocery lists with missing items. And you can do more than just watch TV with your TV. Pause, record and repeat are all possible, as are video calls, surfing, streaming and gaming. Thank you digitalisation.
New devices are changing our homes and how we’ll live in the future. A new trend is virtual assistants, created to make our lives easier. They listen to our commands and search the internet, radio, and television for information. Digitalisation enables a tailor-made programme, using analog products.
Despite digitalisation, the printed press still plays an important role. Newspapers and magazines still enjoy a high level of consumer confidence, as demonstrated in our study on “Media of the Future”. Two thirds of respondents between the ages of 15 and 59 say that a thriving society needs good journalists and newspapers. Today, printed products are being used in more and more hybrid ways. Key is offering a format that is most convenient for consumers and that is best suited to the type of content. This can be a print newspaper or a message from a news channel that reaches you via email or social media.
Devices connect automatically with each other. Innovation is happening at a rapid pace and with tremendous dynamism. Our living rooms are more and more connected – and our devices have more and more functionalities. This also affects how we use media: text, images and sound mix into new forms, which we intuitively use. Digitalisation offers new possibilities in the media sector: we no longer consume content on TVs, radios and newspapers, but on virtually any device, regardless of time and place. The motto is: “Anything, anytime, anywhere.”
Flexibility is an important factor. Four out of ten respondents would like the media to be even more flexible so that they can decide what, when and where they consume content. Media use will continue to shift to digital over the next five years and is likely to become even more mobile. An important driver of this trend is the “moving image”: video streaming is in high demand and will continue to gain in importance in the future.
Digitalisation also means an almost unmanageable wealth of information, especially in the media sector. It is not easy to keep track and find the content you want. That is why it is so important to have “lighthouses” in this sea of information that offer guidance. More than half the consumers between the ages of 15 and 59 seek guidance in this overwhelming media offer by trusting familiar media brands.
