Prosumer

We have become much more than just consumers of media messages. The hypodermic needle model claiming that we simply absorb unfiltered media seems to have lost its credibility.

            Nowadays, mainly thanks to digital media anyone can be a producer of media texts. There are also various levels on which one can be involved in their creation. I believe that audiences are always active to some extent. Whether perceived in groups or individually, the decoding of the messages within the media could be defined as an active process in itself - we view them critically and resist or adopt them. Apart from being reflective, viewers can moreover get involved in discussions, petitions and comments about the shows, sometimes making real changes to its contents. It is becoming more popular that the story line of TV shows is voted for online, in order to please the recipients.

            Because there is better access to technology and to other people (via Internet), more people have the means of creating their own content and getting it to mass audiences all over the world. The average consumer can get his or her opinion heard and thus they become a producer, too – a prosumer