How the internet has influenced our view of television

Having already done my fair share of internet surfing, I was excited to finally have the opportunity to do a research paper that involved this vast and seemingly boundless electronic world. It is easy to passively interact with the rest of the world and scan effortlessly through millions of pages of information, some of which is useful, some of which simply takes up space; the problem that many researchers and interest groups face is making sense of the whole thing. What effects does the internet have on people? This question is no doubt an immense one. In this paper I will attempt to explore the effects the internet has on one major aspect of our everyday lives: television. The internet is not only linked to television in the sense that they both convey vast amounts of information, but they both seem to complement each other. The internet is presenting vast amounts of information about our favorite television shows as well as providing an arena for discussion about the programs.

Saniresch shooting for children’s television pro...

Saniresch shooting for children’s television pro...

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I will present to you what is available out there and hypothesize how this can enhance or alter one's experience with television. Included in this paper will be actual responses from individuals around the world who responded to a survey I posted on various internet newsgroups devoted to specific television shows. The most relevant responses are attached as an appendix at the end of this paper.

I will first briefly define the terms that I will use to avoid any ambiguities. When I refer to the internet, I refer to the vast encyclopedia of information presented through a graphical interface as pages, or web sites. Newsgroups refer to a different aspect of the world-wide web. They consist of over ten thousand separate and specific forums or centers where people post comments...