Spending Money and Providing Shelf Life
Perhaps it’s a matter of escapism, but while Americans are struggling to keep their heads above water, they continue to spend a large portion of their discretionary income on entertainment. And that’s why we’re so important.Entertainment Engineering magazine recognizes (and has researched) the value of entertainment to the American public. But it goes a lot deeper than that. It’s not just an important aspect of our lives while away from work, it’s also part of our everyday life.
Here’s what we’ve found out about the entertainment business: it’s the fastest growing technological business in the world (we’re talking billions and then some), it’s the most effective method of getting people to learn (edutainment is a part of every college campus across the U.S. from videos to video games), it bolsters the attitude and interest of those who are participating or reading about it.
Entertainment is what people talk about while getting their morning coffee, whether it’s last-night’s popular television program or the latest music. It’s what we use on the way to work (and on the way home). It’s what our kids crave and our parents need to stay healthy and engaged in the world.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re at work, at home, or on vacation, entertainment touches your life at every moment of every day. And what’s cool about that is that it’s interesting to see how technology plays a part—just ask people at the Discover Channel, or SyFy Channel.
We’re living in a time when money is more scarce than it’s been for years. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Survey 34.1 percent of our income goes toward housing alone. The truth is that 85.6 percent of our income goes toward standard living expenses like housing, transportation, food, insurance, and personal care. That leaves less than 15 percent, and as I mentioned at the beginning, entertainment takes the bulk of that at 5.6 percent.
What rounds this spending out is alcohol and tobacco at 1.6 percent, and education at 1.9 percent.
I’m going to make one more statement here that I believe in wholeheartedly (and have researched often), and that is that entertainment also educates. When a reader or watcher is enjoying what they are reading or watching, they are more apt to learn the information, to retain it for a longer period of time, and, as one engineer told me recently, to “blab it to his friends until they get tired of listening.”
What you learn from reading the pieces we publish in Entertainment Engineering will stay with you for a long time, and continue to be useful. Our very first issue, published over eight years ago is still being opened and read every month. Now that’s shelf life.
Terry Persun
terry@entertainmentengineering.com
Read more about this and other Entertainment Engineering topics in our online magazine!
Posted by Bruce at 23 Dec 2011 
Categories: Entertainment Engineering, Editorials
Tags: Editorial Terry Persun
Categories: Entertainment Engineering, Editorials
Tags: Editorial Terry Persun
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