This week’s readings focused on the hybrid media known as second screening. In the fast paced technology driven world we live in today, one screen is just not enough. Often times, like this past weekend, I found myself watching Saturday Night Live while also scrolling through the infinite social media feeds. Since I had just read this week’s articles, I realized how many skits I missed because I was engaged on my iPhone. It made me question how much I miss because of second screening. I was watching SNL with my two roommates. When I looked up to see what my roommates were doing, they were both completely involved on their iPhones. They were missing just as much as I was. Zúñiga, Garcia-Perdomo, and McGregor note in their article that, “multiple tasks can be processed effectively in parallel so long as they do not use the same brain resource (Wickens, 2002) (e.g., listening to music and reading a newspaper).” They also note that, “the cognitive cost of second screening may manifest in difficulties with factual recall and news comprehension.” So often, we are disengaged with people because we are constantly connecting on our devises, it’s interesting to realize that we are also often disengaging from one screen for another. This makes me question the long-term implications of second screening and how it will affect future generations. In fact, Kazacova’s research finds that media multitasking behavior may substantially alter the way media viewers process media content.
Although my recent experience seemed negative, second screening can be very beneficial to the viewer. As I talked about last week, when watching my guilty pleasure, The Bachelor, I always look forward to following the #BachelorNation on Twitter, which is filled with hilarious memes and commentary on the show throughout. The Bachelor is such a ridiculous show, as many viewers know, but when second screening, it brings the entertainment to a whole different level.
This can be related to Williams and Gonlin’s research concerning How to Get Away with Murder and second screening. According to the article, second screening has benefitted engagers by having, “positive reactions to representations of a generally marginalized type of Black femininity in HTGAWM.” Williams and Gonlin highlights the importance of having these conversations online. McGregor also finds similar results when it comes to political engagement due to second screening.
The readings also dive in to the political effect that second screening has. McGregor researches second screening in relation to online participation – which overall positively impacts political participation. However, when individuals disagree with the messaging, it can lead to political disengagement, as seen with Trump during the 2016 Presidential election. Zúñiga and Liu also looks into political effects when it comes to voting habits, but found no difference in voting patterns between second screen users.
The readings gave a great look at the way people use technology today and how it will continue to progress. The way we consume news and media is continuously changing. I can think of multiple instances when I watch TV, do homework, and scroll through feeds on my iPhone. In fact, almost everyone I know is guilty of this. How will this affect the way people continue to communicate with each other in the future? Also, how will this affect media and news consumption going forward?
