Episode 3

Available for over a year

The rise of social media and smartphones has given the audience for artistic events - whether on TV, in the theatre or in cinemas - the chance to react more quickly and with more impact than ever before. In the final part of the series, Mark Lawson considers how this newfound power is affecting the way stories are being told across the arts. He hears about the frustration felt by producers, writers and directors when a small proportion of negative tweets are used as the basis for front-page news stories, but also speaks with some writers who are keen to use social media to engage in more direct and productive ways than previously possible with their audience, even those whose reactions are initially negative. Mark considers the similarities between the newly empowered audience making itself heard within the arts with those in the worlds of sport and politics. He hears how some platforms are already allowing the audience to play a direct role in the way narratives progress, and finally turns his thoughts to the future, and how new advances - some of which we have only just begun to consider - might change the way we view and take part in stories as technology's development continues to accelerate.