With 16.2 million people watching the season 2 premiere of Empire this Wednesday night, I’m sure you can imagine that the show was a trending topic on Twitter. Television has become connected to social media and provided a platform for fans to share their favorite moments or live tweet every moment with viewers from across the globe.
Actresses and writers even take part in the discussion and excitement by live tweeting moments as well. This Thursday, I watched the season 5 premiere of Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder and my phone was glued to my hand. After every dramatic scene, I opened the Twitter app to see what my followers were tweeting.
Every week it feels as though I am sitting on my living room couch sharing moments with my virtual family.
“When we look at the psychology of engagement, this next stat becomes a bit more revealing. Of those who post about TV shows, 76% do so live and 51% do so to feel connected to others who might also be watching,” according to Brian Solis article. (http://www.briansolis.com/2012/05/music-film-tv-how-social-media-changed-the-entertainment-experience/)
Social media plays a major role in today’s television and film industry. The marketing a
nd communication teams are beginning to take advantage by creating a special emoji for popular shows, Snapchat stories, and more. For example, Scandal had an emoji of an interracial couple in order to illustrate the love between the main characters, Olivia Pope and President Grant.
I believe that this trend will only continue to grow as viewers continue to utilize multiple devices at one time.
Nicole Moneyham 