The 5th Generation

We live in an era where we can access films, shows and books in any part of the world through our phones and other devices. We have come a long way since having one television per household.

The BBC (also known as British Broadcasting Corporation) is one of the most popular television channels in British history. From long running soaps to compelling crime stories, the BBC aims to please everyone. As well as the standard channel, the BBC have vertically and horizontally integrated across the media industry. The BBC has a public duty. As the company is publicly owned, this means the company must aim to please the public, who are contributing to the cost of the company. They aim to educate, inform and to entertain people. Viewers want to know what is happening in the world, whether this is locally, nationally or internationally and the BBC have to deliver upon this. People seek media for an escape from life and daily stress. Shows like Sherlock and Doctor Who create that ideal escape from the harsh realities of every day and allow us to enjoy consuming media. The BBC isn’t short on documentaries either. Documentaries about crime, animals and the planet are often produced by the BBC to educate the viewers on something they may have not been aware of previously. Blue Planet is a prime example of a documentary. David Attenborough brought back Blue Planet 2 towards the end of 2017 and won a National Television Award for the show. This alone proves the quality of BBC productions and the quality the general public will be expecting. As the general public have to pay for the T.V. licence for the BBC, the BBC have to make sure their productions are of the highest quality to give back to the viewers.

As stated previously, the BBC have a public duty to inform us of news, nationally and internationally. In 2018, it was revealed that BBC’s Newsnight would have a new editor. Esme Wren took cover from Ian Katz. Wren had moved from journalism at Sky News to join the BBC. Wren started her career as the producer as Newsnight but then moved to Sky News. She had worked for Sky News since 2015, until returning back to Newsnight.

Newsnight has been broadcasted on our screens since 1980. For forty years, BBC Two has brought Newsnight to our screens every week day night. Every night at half eleven, the show is broadcasted. However, in 2018 it was revealed that Newsnight is at risk. According to calculations, it takes 7 million pounds to make a year. With an average of 500,000 watching a night, it doesn’t look like a healthy balance of numbers. It could be asked if this amount of money could be spent anywhere else that can assure the public are getting the most out of their money. As the show has been going for four decades, it could be that the format of the show that the public have grown tired with. It could also be the fact that the timing is too late or that people are going elsewhere for the news, linking to the idea of developing technology.

What the BBC do perfectly is adjust news stories to the appropriate demographic. On CBBC, a children’s BBC platform, there is a news show called Newsround. Newsround is a show that tells children the news. In a previous episode that my brother was watching, the presenter was talking about politics, more specifically Brexit. The presenter explained what Brexit is and what the EU and tried to put it into a scenario that children could understand and relate to. Keeping a child’s attention is hard but by linking the news into their interests and lives can create a connection. Newsnight is no different. As the show is on later on into the night (a few hours after the watershed), it means the demographic is adults. As the programme is aimed more towards adults, this means that they can delve in deeper into stories and news articles and do not need to hold back from any concerns.

We know that technology is advancing every day. Our phones are smarter than ever, and our laptops are slowly becoming thinner and lighter. But what does this mean for our society? And what does this mean for the future?

Films like to glorify our technology. We see robots and flying cars and practically anything and everything involving artificial technology. As humans, we have come a long way since the days of the television with one channel and black and white films. Now we can watch films in IMAX and 3D and virtual reality (VR) is slowly seeping its way into our lives. Dystopian films like to play on the idea of advanced technology. In a lot of films, we see technology work against humanity and with the growth of technology, this may be the future we are facing.

There isn’t an industry on the planet that doesn’t rely on technology. Hospitals need the latest technology to help patients and the film industry are always looking for new ways to make their blockbusters bigger and better. Everywhere we look, people are on their phones. They could be ringing someone, texting someone or listening to music. Needless to say, people probably wouldn’t get very far without their phones. You can see people having mini heart attacks when they can’t find their phones in the first pocket they check, and you hear people say they would die without their phones. Technology is such a big part of our lives that our lives now rely on our phones.

That is technology now. Technology is always advancing. And that is where 5G comes in. Virtual reality has only just really broken into the market. Ideas such as 3D have failed in the market. 3D is seen as a novelty almost. Watching a film in 3D feels like a spectacle that can only really happen in the cinema, other than that there is no purpose for the visual experience outside of the cinema. Technology has further into a film. 3D makes you feel the film, but a new film experience has previously broken through on Netflix. We can now make active decisions in a film and watch as that pathway is explored. Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch made the audience choose the paths of the main character, forced to watch as the character’s life spiralled out of control because of every decision. Of course, interactive games exist. Telltale games have mastered the art of alternatives plots and endings. They take classic stories and characters, such as Batman, and create a narrative where you choose the outcomes. This technology has always existed, but Bandersnatch was able to take interactive watching to a new level.

5G is promising to widen our sociality and our technological horizons. Humanity are always looking to improve things. Just because something isn’t broken, doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed is almost the way people think. 5G has vowed to make our smart phones better and faster.“What's really exciting is all the new services that will be built that we can't foresee.” Is what Ian Fogg, who works at OpenSignal. This shows that we, as humanity should prepare ourselves for the new era of technology and technical giants. We have only really just got our minds around 4G but with 5G slowly rising in cities, it will not be long until the world is using 5G and it may not be long until we alienate ourselves from reality.

Countries that have the biggest impact in the technology field are the ones who are trying 5G first. These include America, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, Japan and China. 4G was rumoured to have been trialled in 2017 and 2018 and no 2019. This shows that because the technology is that advanced, the expected year has to keep being pushed back due. It isn’t just speed we can expect from this technology. The possibilities are endless, but one outcome could be that doctors and surgeons do not necessarily need to be in the same room as a patient. This sounds like something straight out of a Sci-Fi film. The surgeon would essentially be using virtual reality along with a headset. Technology is always useful, but it could be argued that this is taking away the key component of surgery. The patient surely would feel more comfortable with a qualified surgeon operating on them rather than relying on a headset and machinery. It is highly possible humanity could become lost in this technological wave. We have seen films where cars do not need a driver. 2018’s black Panther recreated this ideology. With 5G we will be able to see cars without their drivers. Google and Uber are already developing self-driving cars but 5G will normalise the idea of self-driving cars.

The scariest part of watching a futuristic film is always comparing it to the society we know. Technology is a giant part of the future, but we could lose ourselves very easily. People use films to escape. However, if we had the choice, most people would choose to completely escape reality. Virtual reality is a key part of 5G. Business meetings, social events and occasions may all be able to be attended through virtual reality. Sure, this could grant us with so many opportunities. We could see the world without even leaving the room and we can chat to people from across the world. We would be enriching our knowledge and we would be learning. One of the things people enjoy is socialising. Most people thrive in social environments. If you replace a party with a virtual party or a job interview with a virtual interview, it takes away all physical conversations and it becomes materialised and artificial. People would escape into this virtual world and almost forget their actual surroundings. Of course, technology is expensive. Samsung and Apple are both giants in technology and the costs for their products is too high for a lot of people. With the arrival of 5G, it means people may be stuck behind and may not be able to afford such a luxury. The products we have no will not be compatible with 5G. This ultimately means that anyone that wants to keep up with the times, will have to buy new devices. This is the perfect opportunity for mobile companies like EE, O2 and others to raise their prices as they know people will be in need of the newest films.

Marc Allera is the CEO of EE., BT and Plusnet. As EE is one of the biggest mobile company, it would be appropriate the news report to get his opinion on the 5G wave that is set to hit the world. Essentially, EE would benefit from this change. EE was the company that released 4G in the first place and seeing how this impacted the world, getting that comparison between 4G and 5G would help people understand the technology.

Jodie McCutcheon has written an article on the devastating impact 5G could potentially have on people’s health. We are always looking to improve things, but these improvements can have a serious impact on our health and well-being, in the report, McCutcheon says that radiation can cause serious harm to our health. Although invisible, this radiation can cause tumours and DNA to snap. This would immediately start a debate between giant technology giants and those who are concerned about the health factors.

Although it seems like a fictionalised job, Richard Watson is a futurologist. He is also an author. A futurologist is someone who specialises in the future and looks at modern trends to theorise the future. I think a futurologist would be a good type of person to interview as they can use statistics and facts to work out just how the world can cope with 5G.