It's truly a sign of the times that the Queen (of England) is broadcasting her Christmas message on YouTube.
Is it that Her Majesty, or rather the institution that she represents, is embracing technological modernity or that YouTube is getting establishment? I suppose it's a bit of both.
There used to be a time when family members would gather together in front of the radio or television and in respectful (or pretended respectful) silence listened to the live broadcast on radio or television. That created a sense of occasion, befitting the Christmassy atmosphere.
I wonder how many families would gather in front of a computer and click on YouTube on this momentous occasion. Computers in the home are not usually the centre of family attention, and in any case the LCD monitors are not watchable from too many different angles.
This is not to say that her speech is not watched, but I daresay it will mostly be watched only at the convenience of the computer user and not at the time it is intended to be seen.
However, it may be that some younger people not keen to sit in front of a TV to watch the speech, might while checking the internet go to YouTube and take a look. That also seems to be the intention of the Royal Channel.
But what finally matters is not whether younger viewers are caught in the net, but whether the Queen is delivering a speech that has relevance to them.
Is it that Her Majesty, or rather the institution that she represents, is embracing technological modernity or that YouTube is getting establishment? I suppose it's a bit of both.
There used to be a time when family members would gather together in front of the radio or television and in respectful (or pretended respectful) silence listened to the live broadcast on radio or television. That created a sense of occasion, befitting the Christmassy atmosphere.
I wonder how many families would gather in front of a computer and click on YouTube on this momentous occasion. Computers in the home are not usually the centre of family attention, and in any case the LCD monitors are not watchable from too many different angles.
This is not to say that her speech is not watched, but I daresay it will mostly be watched only at the convenience of the computer user and not at the time it is intended to be seen.
However, it may be that some younger people not keen to sit in front of a TV to watch the speech, might while checking the internet go to YouTube and take a look. That also seems to be the intention of the Royal Channel.
But what finally matters is not whether younger viewers are caught in the net, but whether the Queen is delivering a speech that has relevance to them.
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