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Entertainment has been part of human culture that dates back to the prehistoric era. It was quite simple at that time in the form of story telling, carvings, and paintings in caves. Not only did it serve as a form of entertainment, it also was a way to pass history on to the next generation. It did not serve solely as a form of entertainment, it also helped to bring people together and taught the youngsters important lessons such as how to survive, the history of the tribe, and other important values such as respect. It also was used to strengthen cultural identity, create bonds, and create strong communities that all shared the same ethos.
Over the centuries entertainment evolved in the ancient Roman, Greek, and Egyptian civilisations, evolving in theatre performances, festivals, gladiator games, and athletic competitions that were held in public spaces. Entertainment served many different purposes. The Greeks used the theatre as a method of exploring philosophical ideas, evoke human emotions, and played an important role in helping humans understand the value of their moral, ethical, and social behaviour. It also played a political role and was often used by rulers as a show of power.
During the Middle Ages into the Renaissance entertainment was used in religious festivals and the increase of musicians, storytellers, and poets who helped entertainment become mainstream. Whilst entertainment was now being created solely for amusement, however it was also an effective way for writers to use it as a medium to question morality, social issues, and the human condition.
The way entertainment was consumed underwent a crucial transformation with the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. The printing press made it easier for individuals to access information in the form of novels and newspapers. The arrival of the 20th century brought radio, film, and eventually television meant that entertainment was available to a much larger demographic and entertainment now became a more private activity as individuals could enjoy it from the comfort of their homes rather than having to go to a public place such as theatre or cinema. Thus began the start of the mass media influence and pop culture has become an integral part of modern society.
In 2000, the release of broadband made internet usage go mainstream and was the beginning of the digital era that has evolved rapidly due to continued technological innovations, as well as rapid increase in the number of mobile first users worldwide. https://bloggingfm.org/entertainment-in-the-digital-era-what-keeps-people-glued-to-their-screens shows that the entertainment industry was one of the first sectors to integrate digital technology into their offerings. In order to keep audiences hooked, entertainment platforms need to gain the attention of the audience by offering them a strong hook and then continue to create content that will keep them interested and engaged.
It is important to make the event feel personalised and create an atmosphere where participants feel an emotional connection at the same time offering content that is easy to understand and consume. Creating an ecosystem where participants feel that they are important and are actively involved in whatever form of entertainment that they are engaging in will increase time spent online and loyalty.
Live wrestling dates back to ancient Greece when it was included in the 708 BC Olympic games. Drawings in ancient caves show that it could date back as far as 3000 BC. It was one of the acts in carnivals in the 1860s and 1870s where strongmen would fight against each other. At the beginning of the 21st century it began to evolve into more of a performance than pure competition. Events coordinators realised that the antics of the wrestlers in the ring helped to attract larger audiences. Wrestlers eventually began donning colourful costumes and creating fictional characters.
Wrestling events have always had a compelling narrative that appeals to audiences. Wrestling understood the importance of actively engaging the audience during the match. By creating interesting plots and drama-packed storylines around the different players and rivalries, fans become so engaged that they cannot get enough of the sport. Wrestling matches actively engage the audience through live reactions that help to shape the story in the ring in real time.
Wrestlers feed on the audience response and they in turn will react to the audience response which makes the crowd feel more emotionally involved and creates a loop that creates a thrilling and highly interactive experience where the wrestler and the audience are equally participating in the match.
Digital first experiences use similar methods to keep their audiences engaged. Consumers now have more control over the content that they consume and how they interact with it. Entertainment is no longer passive, now users are very actively involved and more in control of when and how they consume different forms of content.
In the past digital content was created by professionals such as musicians, directors, writers, and artists and they were required to work with hierarchies and established companies. The content creation was often very expensive and therefore required significant investment, access to special equipment, and special resources. The process had a specific chain of events and there were few or no opportunities for inexperienced newcomers into the market.
This completely changed when YouTube made it possible for anyone to easily upload content to their platform. The first video that was uploaded was by the platform's co-founder Jawed Karim in 2005 with a 19 second video titled “Me at the Zoo.” on 23 April 2005. Now anyone can create and upload content to various different platforms. This has led to an influx of videos many of which have gone viral across social media platforms.
Modern day content is created to keep audiences engaged such as triggers, easy to perform actions that offer unpredictable often emotional rewards such as access to new content, or a personalised experience such as a playlist or gaming experience which leads users to become more invested in the experience which triggers them to become more engaged and share personal information and engage in actions that make the product more valuable for them as well as encouraging them to interact for longer periods of time.
The digital revolution has drastically changed how individuals work, communicate, interact, and entertain themselves. This broader cultural angle encompasses several different elements such as:
Media very effectively grabs the attention of individuals and keeps them engaged. The use of an external trigger that will encourage users to open the app to find out what has just been posted by using a notification on a phone, emails, or a link to a web page. The continual onslaught of external triggers will create an internal trigger which will encourage individuals to open an app even if they have not received a notification.
Digital culture is designed to appeal to the psychology of each individual that interacts with a platform. Digital first experiences are carefully designed to tap into human psychology by creating anticipation of a future reward which motivates users to take actions to find out what is waiting for them after they swipe the “like” button which then will trigger a release of dopamine. The release of this natural feel good chemical is so pleasant that individuals will become addicted to the feeling and will repeatedly come back to find out what the next reward will be.
By appealing to users' psychological needs companies will effectively create digital engagement among individuals by offering them social connections, the opportunity to learn new things, offering instantaneous communication, offering ecosystems where users can be creative, collaborate with others and share ideas.
Live wrestling and digital entertainment use many of the same principles. Whether it be the wrestler in the arena or a digital first experience, individuals want to be active participants who are actually in control of how they engage and consume content, whether it be a reaction when one of the adversaries in the wrestling ring flip their opponent onto the mat, or when interacting with digital entertainment. Both areas have captured the attention of their consumers and it would seem that no one will be looking away from the wrestling ring or screen anytime soon.
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