Interactive media is something that, at first, seemed straightforward to me, but it's media you can interact with. After taking this course and exploring the many forms and purposes of interactive media, I’ve come to realize how broad and influential it really is. It’s not just video games or touchscreens. It’s a whole system of design, communication, and response that’s constantly at work in our everyday lives. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are always engaging with interactive media in some form from social media platforms and apps to interactive art, educational tools, and more. What makes it so interesting is how it relies on the user to participate in order for the experience to happen. It’s not passive like watching a movie; it’s active and ongoing.
After learning what interactive media means in countless different ways this semester my definition is similar, but not at the same time. TeachFloor says that interactive media is, “digital content that allows the user to engage dynamically and interactively. It integrates multiple forms of media, such as text, audio, video, images, and animation, to create an immersive and interactive experience.” I think interactive media is a tool, a form of communication, but also you can simply just, I guess, interact with it as it comes back to you. When we click, type, talk into, or even move is us interacting with a form of technology or media. As an example I was playing the New York Times games earlier this morning, that is a form of interactive media. I was tapping and interacting with what was in front of me, and after I typed or pushed a button I got a result back to me. You are interacting or rather involved in any kind of form of media or technology. You are actively choosing to use and utilize a video game, e-book, television show, blog, meme, or your computer.
This semester has somewhat changed my perspective on how much of an impact interactive media has made on society. Personally, I am an advocate for all forms of interactive media and my definition is simply any form of media I can interact with. It may sound simple and downright lazy to use the words of the term in the definition, but that makes it the most understandable for me. When I am playing 2048 on my computer, I am practicing what interactive media is. Another example could be when I am sharing a meme or a funny trend with a friend I am once again practicing interactive media.
Interactive media is everywhere around us when we least expect it, especially now as we have become more digitized. My perspective has not only broadened, but also become more complex. It’s always evolving too, as technology becomes more advanced and integrated into our lives. Interactive media isn’t just something I use, it's something I participate in, shape, and reflect on. This course helped me see that even the simplest interactions scrolling through a feed or tapping through a quiz are part of a bigger, interactive experience that defines how we live in the digital world.
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