When most people think about entertainment, the first thing that comes to mind is getting out of the house. After all, that’s what everyone else is doing, right? People are flooding bars, going to nightclubs and hunkering down in the cinema and enjoying some fine dining out. Or are they?
Because of the pandemic, norms were thrown out of the window. Suddenly all of that exterior entertainment was off the table. Not being able to get out and watch sports matches, meet for coffee dates, or join the local book club enforced a huge cultural change.
Sources of entertainment had to change. A greater dependency on those insular things like binging on Netflix, learning a new ‘Fortnite’ dance in your bedroom, or browsing the best betting offers at sports betting sites became a bigger norm. It also meant that it was a time for technology to kick things up a notch or two.
A snapshot of modern lifestyle is where the internet is the ultimate portal to the world of entertainment and technology is the hand that feeds it. Here’s a look at some of the main areas of modern home entertainment.
Video Games
The stereotype of gaming is a teenage kid sitting in a dark bedroom, transfixed to their screen all night. That of course is still true to a large degree, but video gaming has also become more social and has become far more mainstream.
Advances in computing power have allowed developers to release even more realistic games to the market. Consoles keep improving. Think of the furore that the launch of the PlayStation 5 caused in 2020 and people are still having a hard time getting their hands on one.
Think about Unreal Engine and its startling realism. Gaming has evolved where it is a social hobby, as players team up in a game and chat with others on missions. It’s become easier for families to play together at home thanks to better gaming technology linking handhold consoles together.
Video gaming is a huge pastime. It’s challenging, engaging and largely a home-based chunk of escapism. The growth of eSports betting at online betting sites, with some bookies even live-streaming events, shows the massive growth of this area of entertainment.
Online Sports Betting
Online sports betting is a pastime that has got so much easier, faster and more secure, thanks to the wave of technology. Long gone are the days when you had to walk down the High Street and hand some cash over to the bookmaker.
Now it’s just call up a website, or better still, fire up your favourite mobile betting app on your phone and you are in. You have a safe, secure sportsbook right there. Everything you need to do, from making a payment to striking a bet is available at your fingertips.
Live odds are available, allowing you to pick and choose your selections while you watch a big match on the screen. It’s remarkable how far online betting has come in a short time. It’s a massive industry with new betting sites popping up all the time.
Browse around online bookmakers and you will see the fierce competition between operators in coming up with new technological innovations to win customers. Features like live in-play betting, mobile apps and cash out at online bookmakers have been transformational.
Shopping Online
Online shopping is one of the biggest forms of entertainment that you can do from home. Forget the High Street, forget having to pull on a pair of jeans, walk to the car, drive twenty minutes and fight for a parking spot. Forget the rain.
You can browse any store that comes to mind, even in the wee hours of the morning and those purchases will show up on your doorstep a couple of days later. Further innovations like Doordash and Postmates get you fast food meals, a cup of coffee and more delivered wherever you want.
Getting Social
Another great form of entertainment that you can do from home is creating content. It’s a huge aspect of modern culture that has evolved from technology. Youtube, TikTok and Instagram are platforms that people just continuously flood with content. All you need is a phone which does all the heavy lifting of recording, editing and special effects, and you can start getting social by uploading your own content.
Film and TV
Watching movies and streaming TV shows is just not going to go away. How you watch those programmes has changed drastically, even though you probably don’t think about it. Terrestrial TV has been replaced by streaming services that deliver on-demand content.
Films have gone straight to streaming services, skipping cinema launches altogether. There are so many streaming services from Apple TV, Netflix, Amazon TV and YouTube TV, plus a plethora of free content via apps. At this point, what can’t you snuggle up and binge?
Workouts
Indoor life does seem sedentary, but it does not need to be, again thanks to technology. Home workout equipment like Peloton comes integrated with instruction videos and live classes. Getting in a workout at home, where it’s a quick dash to a private shower afterwards is surely better than heading to a sweaty gym. If nothing else you can call up exercises on your phone via Youtube.
Summary
Some people are naturally homebodies and the social scene outside was never to their fancy. Some people have just grown with the evolving technology, which has had a major role in keeping us in our homes.
They can even be smart homes now, shouting at Alexa for example to turn on the lights in the kitchen. Technology has changed us all and will continue to do so, whether that’s in video gaming, mobile banking, social media content creation or online betting. We’re all part of the entertainment net.
