The Future Of Media Is Interactive

In a bylined opinion piece for YourStory, Salone Sehgal, Founder and Managing Partner of Lumikai, argues that media is graduating from lean-back passive watching to lean-forward interactive experiences, and that interactive media will be far more encompassing than previously imagined.

She traces the shift to three forces. Advances in graphical rendering, cloud computing, smartphones and cheap data have fuelled the rise of gaming, now a $300Bn global industry according to Naavik, alongside platforms such as TikTok, Eloelo, Twitch and Fortnite. A mobile-first, digital-native "Swipe before Type" generation now expects interactivity, making India the second-largest overseas market for anime after China and even bringing spirituality online through digital darshans and on-demand astrology.

The third force is the birth of new media. Citing Ernst & Young, Salone notes that half of India's $25Bn media and entertainment market, spanning TV, print, radio and out-of-home, is growing at a modest 3–6% CAGR, while new media across gaming, esports, digital media, social streaming and animation/VFX is expanding at around 16%. Interactive media, she writes, will shape how we play, learn, socialise, shop, pray and date.

Read the article here.