Are we as hypnotised by internetmedia as boomers are by tv? What are the differences?

I would have said no prior to Musically and Vines. Since those dropped, it’s pushed the big websites into creating media ecosystems that thrive on never-ending content that automatically cycles for the viewer in short bursts that rewards the brain’s desire for “novel” experiences.

While TV generations had content auto-fed to them, the content was broken up by three minute commercial segments that give the viewer time to assess whether or not to keep watching. On top of that, the program will eventually come to an end in 30 minutes to an hour and give you another opportunity to decide to stop. Finally, TV generations had to eventually leave the house for work, school, or other activities, limiting the window of time where TV may be viewed.

With this in mind, Gen Y and Z (Gen X is not, as a group, on the internet in the same way) have it much worse because the smartphone is with you about everywhere you go, meaning that an individual’s contact time with media is much higher than ever before and more insidious because websites curate the content in such a manner that it becomes addictive.
I also want to add that it was very easy to make TV/video games a social thing. I've heard of watch parties during the peak MTV days where people with similar taste would watch the samw block on MTV (like Headbanger's Ball or 120 minutes) and talk about what they liked and hated. Same thing for couch co-op in video games during that era and into the mid-2000s.


Now, everything is on your phone meaning you are the only person watching the content. It removes a lot pf the social aspect that TV and the like had. I think TV was really only as bad as you invested into it (it could be bad if you watch it all day but good in short doses), but smartphones/social media is tailor made to get us addicted to it.
 
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