Thank you TV, my old friend in need

Do we as consumers still crave attention and a greater choice in the possibilities to be “online” and a part of everything. Or do we perhaps also enjoy the opportunity to “be offline” and “just be entertained” without having to invest a part of ourselves?

I saw a trailer on TV2 the other day, it was for their daily morning show ”Go’ Morgen Danmark” (good morning Denmark). It was a spin-off of my beloved sit-com FRIENDS. To the tune of “I’ll be there for you” the hosts where shown in different scenarios from the show. It got me thinking. Have my television become an old friend that I just can’t let go of, where I just can’t seem to make the transition into making it ”someone that I used to know”. Or is my TV more a trusted friend in need, which as a medium provides me with something unique that keeps me coming back?

I thought about my day. I get up in the morning; I check my email and Facebook. I go on with my day; I take a look at LinkedIn and my news app and get up-to-date on Twitter, meanwhile the latest mails ticks in and the newest updates on Facebook is pushed to my Smartphone. I shape my online presence by “liking” things that are important to me, and by participating in my friends’ online-selves on different social medias. I constantly offer my involvement and a part of my limited attention to a vast variety of sources that crave it. Evening comes. I’m tried. What do I do? I turn on my television – but why? What is it that the television does for me?

I have come to believe that there are basically two reasons why my ongoing relationship with my TV continues to thrive. For one, I have grown up in an environment where it was natural that the television filled the living room in the evening time and brought the family together. I therefore have a strong habit for including my TV in my evening leisure time. Watching TV feeds my human craving for nostalgia, and my Danish need for “hygge”.

Secondly, I believe that my TV provides my mind with a sanctuary wherein I have to opportunity to escape the constant need to be “online” and “social” – with a environment where I can be entertained, where I gain new input and insights, without having to invest a great deal of myself in the transaction. I only need to provide my attention – not my feedback and social-acceptance. I can’t click “like” or share an update – I do not have to process the likes and updates of my online friends. I can just sit back and enjoy the one-way communication for as long as I desire. And when my need for this is fulfilled, I can take out my Smartphone or laptop once more, and return to the online universe – and if I miss my TV friend(s) I can even meet them there.

I had to think about it a bit, the answer was not clear to me a first, but through reflection I was able to move past the economical founded irritation of “why isn’t there ever anything good to watch” and come to realizing that my old friend the TV actually helps me cope and deal with living in this new world where everything and everyone is online always.

So to me, my TV is valued friend who helps me cope with being a citizen in this over-communicated world where everything is going digital. In the mist of this progress of everything “going online” I also find my self confronted with even more means of watching TV - where and whenever I desire. And I’m left wondering; is that really what I desire? Do I feel relived that I do not have to miss my favorite show, or pressured to spend even more time ”online”? My personal jury is still out, and I’m awaiting the verdict. However I will not be surprised if my habits will once more adapt and take in this new way of having a relationship to my dear old friend – my beloved TV.  

My extended life…?

Brands and products help me form the identity I desire, my Smartphone aids my mind in keeping track of all the things I would otherwise forget - but have my IPhone also become the main facilitator of my social life? I’m puzzled.

I have long been aware of the fact, that in the eyes of my social surroundings, I become a certain person, when I’m seen with my IPhone tightly clutched in my hand. Namely the choice of brand forms a clear picture of me being “a Apple person”.

My IPhone does of cause not have this special ability, all the brands and products I’m seen with has this ability. We call it “the extended self” – as we extend a desired part of ourselves on to a brand or product in order to express part of who we are or want to become. The active environmentalist will for example most likely choose organic products and a high-society success will want show himself in the presence of high-end brands to maintain his image.    

Recently I became acquainted with the term “the extended mind” and it got me thinking - especially about the relationship I have with my IPhone.  

The term “the extended mind” is used in psychology to explain the displacement of cognitive processing onto either a physical object or a social context. As an example a person with Alzheimer’s may rely on a notebook to remember how to perform a task such as making lunch, and most of us tend to use our friends or family to help weigh different options when making a decisions. In other words, things and tasks that would otherwise occupy our mind is sort of “outsourced” to another entity.

I for one use my IPhone for keeping track of my appointments, my contacts and their birthdays. Through Facebook and Linkedin I even keep track of their whereabouts and careers. I check my bank, my mail and my to-do list – heck I barely know what time, day or week it is without consulting my beloved Smartphone. It should be safe to say, that I extend my mind onto my phone.

But what about the social networking and communicative aspects? As mentioned, I keep track of my friends and family, by using my smartphone as a gateway for all my online-social-interaction. I’m on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Messenger, Google+ and I receive text messengers, mail and of cause something totally old school called “calls”.

My IPhone provides versatile possibilities for interaction, which suits my dynamic way of life, wherein time is a critical resource. It allows me to nurture, sustain and live my social life regardless of where I’m at and what I’m doing. It allows me to extend my presence onto multiple settings, and aids me in forming my “online-social-me”.

I can’t help wondering, can a new marketing term be coined? Should we begin to talk of “the extended (social) life”?

How would such a term influence upcoming marketing approaches? My first assumption will be, we must seek to integrate everything we do in the Smartphone medium, and begin to move away from distinguishing between the notion of “online” and “offline” communication. If Smartphones truly are an extension of our selves, our minds and our (social) lives, they have also become a valuable entry point to our consciousnesses – and that is in my opinion worth giving some more thought.