What is the impact of online platforms on traditional media?
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The Impact of Online Platforms on Traditional Media
Transformation of Media Consumption Patterns
Rise of Online Platforms and Social Media
The advent of online platforms and social media has significantly transformed how information is created, distributed, and consumed. These platforms have democratized media by allowing individuals and organizations to publish and share content globally, often bypassing traditional gatekeepers like editors and broadcasters1. This shift has led to a more participatory media environment where user-generated content plays a crucial role2.
Decline in Traditional Media Revenues
Traditional media organizations have struggled to adapt to the digital shift, facing declines in revenues and layoffs. The shift towards digital advertising and subscriptions has disrupted the business models of print newspapers, magazines, and television1. Newspaper sales have dropped, and many traditional media entities have faced financial difficulties3.
Audience Fragmentation and Changing Trust Dynamics
Fragmentation of Audience
The proliferation of online platforms has led to the fragmentation of audiences. With a multitude of sources available, audiences are no longer concentrated on a few traditional media outlets but are spread across various online platforms2. This fragmentation has implications for how media organizations reach and engage with their audiences.
Trust and Perceptions of Media
Online news environments differ significantly from traditional ones, with social cues such as comments and user ratings influencing perceptions of credibility. Research indicates that audience comments, especially uncivil ones, can shape how people perceive media sources, potentially increasing perceptions of bias and trust in online sources4. Younger cohorts, who are more accustomed to digital media, are particularly influenced by these social contexts4.
Displacement and Complementarity of Media
Displacement Effect
The Internet has a displacement effect on traditional media, particularly in the daily news domain. As people gain more internet experience, their time spent on traditional media decreases. This effect is most prominent after five years of internet use, indicating a shift in media consumption habits over time5.
Complementary Relationship
Despite the displacement effect, there is evidence of a complementary relationship between online and traditional media. Users who rely heavily on the Internet for news and information still use traditional sources substantially. This suggests that traditional media will continue to exist alongside digital media, serving complementary roles in fulfilling information needs6.
Conclusion
The impact of online platforms on traditional media is profound and multifaceted. While digital media has democratized content creation and distribution, it has also led to audience fragmentation and financial challenges for traditional media organizations. Trust dynamics have shifted, with social cues playing a significant role in how media is perceived. Despite the displacement effect, traditional media continues to complement digital media, indicating a complex and evolving media landscape.
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Most relevant research papers on this topic
Impact of New Digital Media on Conventional Media and Visual Communication in Jordan
New digital media has significantly impacted conventional media and visual communication in Jordan, transforming information creation, distribution, and consumption, while also affecting traditional media businesses and causing revenue declines and layoffs.
Interrogating the Online Internet-Based Broadcast Media Stations: Platforms, Implications and Emerged Paradigms
Online internet-based broadcast media stations primarily use social media platforms, impacting traditional media industries and the media ecosystem, requiring platform transparency and accountability for content moderation.
A Comparison between New Mobile Internet Media and Traditional Media
New mobile internet media has significantly impacted traditional media, leading to decreased newspaper sales and unpopularity of entity bookstores.
Toxic Talk: How Online Incivility Can Undermine Perceptions of Media
Online incivility can undermine people's trust and perceptions of media credibility, particularly among younger cohorts who rely more on online news sources for news.
Highly CitedInternet experience and time displacement of traditional news media use: An application of the theory of the niche
The Internet has a displacement effect on traditional news media use, with consumers spending less time on traditional media as their internet experience increases, and viewing the internet as superior.
Highly CitedThe complementary relationship between the Internet and traditional mass media: the case of online news and information
Online news and information usage is positively associated with traditional media usage, suggesting that traditional media will still exist to complement the Internet in serving human news and information needs.
Observational StudyHighly CitedNews Platform Preference as a predictor of political and civic participation
Preference for digital media strongly positively impacts political and civic participation, suggesting that digital and traditional media may have different effects on engagement.
Observational StudyGlobal Mistrust in News: The Impact of Social Media on Trust
Increased social media use for news access leads to a decline in global news trust, with higher levels of mistrust in news likely to continue rising as the number of people using social media for news grows.
Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumer Buying Behaviour (With Reference to Online Entertainment Platforms)
Social media marketing significantly influences consumer preferences and decision-making processes towards online entertainment platforms in India, challenging traditional media channels and OTT platforms.
Research on the Displacing Effect of the Internet on the Traditional Media
The Internet has temporarily displaced traditional media, but some functions remain unaffected, suggesting coping strategies for both media types.
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