Everything that we have ever invented or discovered was preceded by a need. So what is the need that has brought on the development of second screen apps? What was the course of evolution that has lead us down the path to this particular type of entertainment and what is it that lets TV producers and programmers know that people want such products and that this is the way in which things are going to go?
1.Why do we need second screen apps? For the same reason why we need TV or an Internet connection. To be even more connected, to have access to information at any time, on any subject, by any means. Communication as we know it has evolved and has taken a turn that brought all of us to a place where change is something that happens every couple of months, where innovation is not something you have to wait for one year or two, but something that people find difficult to keep up with. Why should entertainment be left behind? We are just as demanding when it comes to entertainment as we are when it comes to communication and when it comes to the use of applications that make our lives easier.
2.Why does TV need second screen apps? As a means of entertainment, TV has already gone through its lowest point, only to have been saved by miracle in the twelfth hour. TV needs second screen apps probably more than people need them. These apps are intended to make viewers more interested in what is going on by making all of the potentially interesting information more accessible. In a way, it is like turning information from flat to 3D. Live, accessible, updated, within reach!
3.Are second screen apps expected to take over? It is difficult to predict how things will turn out in this regard because not everybody has come to experience with the concept. There is still a lot of confusion, even among media representatives, about the concept, and most people still fail to see it as a whole idea and not just as a trendy whim. But if history has taught us anything it is the fact that, as a civilization, once we get a hold of something good, we keep wanting more and more and more. Looking back, surely someone has asked this same question then the first smartphones hit the market and we all know how that chapter in our world history ended: with a general craze and the turning of a gadget into a necessity. **
As a generation, we are probably the ones most marked by changes. If in the days of our parents it took things a couple of years to get outdated, now you have to keep up with the trend and with the fashion of the month. And technology is nowhere bellow the other areas of interest. There is a new smartphone and a new tablet being launched every season. As you read these lines, a new device is being developed, one that will incorporate even more functions than you could imagine.
