Digital media consumption will continue to grow: Expert
Dubai — The removal of several traditional constraints on the media, with the arrival of the Internet, has heralded a time where digital media users have more power than ever before to control the type of information that they are exposed to.
Speaking at the National Treasure event on Tuesday, Dr Nashwa Al Ruwaini, CEO and board member of Pyramedia Media Consultancy and Production, highlighted how the media has evolved over the years. In the 1980s, she spoke of how traditional media was limited due to several factors including geographical monopolies, high production costs, defined schedules, one dimensional methods of distribution, difficulties in sharing news, and only a few big brands dominating the clearly defined forms of the media. This all began to change with the introduction of the Internet to the wider audience.
“When the Internet became easily accessible to everyday users, things began to change in the way people consumed media. Geographical monopolies were a thing of the past, and there was no need to stick to the previously rigid schedules,” she said.
As time went on, the high production costs associated with creating news also fell. In addition, people weren’t limited to a single medium when it came to receiving news.
“Before, if you wanted to reach a million people, you would print a million newspaper copies. Now, it was possible for you to reach a million people without incurring the same costs,” she said.
Al Ruwaini also spoke about the impact of social media and how the playing field was further changed as it went mainstream. “In 2006, facebook became available to anyone with a valid email address. Then, in 2007, Twitter became a key tool during events,” she said.
“These were major turning points for the media industry. Suddenly, politicians, kings, lawmakers, CEOs, and international companies were sharing the news and engaging with people through their social media pages. And, they weren’t limited to just text anymore. People could now share images,
We know that digital media consumption will continue to grow. Does this mean that traditional media is dead? Not necessarily
Dr Nashwa Al Ruwaini, CEO and board member of Pyramedia Media Consultancy and Production
soundbites, and videos, all through social media.”
“Looking ahead at the role of the media in the future, we can deduce a few things. We know that digital media consumption will continue to grow. Does this mean that traditional media is dead? Not necessarily. If we look at advertisements and the value of them being sent to traditional forms of media such as newspapers, we can see that there is a still a substantial number of companies still sending their ads to traditional media,” she explained.
However, Al Ruwaini also noted that there has been an increase in the value of ads being sent to digital platforms. Compared to the value of the ads in newspapers, it is still a small amount, but it is growing. This has lead many companies to take their operations online for fear of losing revenue.
“If you look at the future, it belongs to the millennials; those between the ages of 16 to 34 years of age that grew up in the age of digital processes. The way they consume media is vastly different and will continue to determine how media companies reach out to them. Looking at the statistics, I can also say that instant messaging is at the heart of the mobile experience. Millennials today love their smartphones and use them for almost everything, from alarm clocks to their entertainment means,” she stressed.
— rohma@khaleejtimes.com