[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he world has changed since the emergence of the internet as a phenomenon. At first, it seemed that the internet will be a very useful tool when it comes to information and access to information, as well as that it would allow for much better communications between people. We had different thoughts and expectations back then, in the early days of the internet. We thought that the purpose of the internet would be primarily to disseminate information and improve communications.
While that is true and the internet has indeed made it possible to receive and send information and establish communications with people who are on the opposite side of world. But we want to have a look at a different issue and a different way in which the internet has changed our lives. The entertainment industry was also changed dramatically. We will have a look at certain forms of entertainment that have shifted online and have become quite popular lately.
Music
The music industry has changed dramatically. Music is a form of entertainment, both on its own, but it is also linked to other branches of the entertainment industry. There can’t be a party without music and music plays an integral role in the tourism and hospitality.
It is so much easier to release a record these days, in fact, the whole concept of records and albums has changed. It is a lot more flexible these days. You can release tracks and songs separately and offer them online, directly to all people who are interested, all over the world. The production costs are much lower and this has enabled a lot smaller musicians and bands to present their music to a larger and a wider audience and to produce more.
Gaming
This is an industry where the impact has been the most tremendous. It was very difficult to predict that online gaming will become such a massive trend. In the early days of the internet, people who were into games didn’t realise the potential.
Soon the option of playing games in multiplayer mode online became an option. For many games, the single-player was the main mode and the multiplayer mode was seen as addition. Over the years, the popularity of games where the accent was on multiplayer mode kept growing.
Similar trend happened in less conventional forms of gaming, such as slot games, as well as other games of chance. The trends have changed and a lot more people prefer playing online as opposed to going to traditional establishments and venues such as casinos. If you have a look at the modern new online slots you will see that they look like a lot more like conventional video games as opposed to retro slots that feature fruit symbols.
Tourism
It may seem that this is an industry that wouldn’t be impacted by the internet, as you would have to get in a car or get on a plane and travel somewhere and that is not something that can be done on the internet. However, there are a lot of aspects and phases that precede the actual stay at a particular location.
Looking for a holiday location, booking a hotel, a taxi and everything else can be done online. The internet sure played a role in the establishment of low-cost airlines and their popularisation. The internet showed us that there is great interest for tourism and travel, it allowed people to discover new destinations and overall encouraged the growth in the tourism industry.
Film
This one is pretty obvious. Streaming services have changed the game. Every film, every show is now just one click away. The prices went down as well, the internet liberalised the industry, enabled a lot more people to become independent directors and filmmakers and some of them have been noticed both by the audience and the larger players on the market.
Nigeria is one of the countries where the number of internet users has been growing almost exponentially. There were only about 42.50 million internet users in Nigeria in 2015 and that number grew to 96 million in 2020. It is estimated that the number of users will grow to over 152 million by 2025. In other words, the number of users will be more than tripled in ten years.
