Interactive Media: Definition, Types, and Examples

What Is Interactive Media?

Interactive media is a method of communication in which a program's outputs depend on the user's inputs. In turn, the user's inputs affect the program's outputs. It refers to the ways in which people process and share information or how they communicate with each other. 

Interactive media allows people to connect with others or organizations by making them active participants in the media they consume through text, graphics, video, and sound.

Understanding Interactive Media

The purpose of interactive media is to engage the user and interact with them in a way non-interactive media does not. Traditional forms of media, such as television and radio, originally required no active participation. These forms of media made consumers more passive, providing them with no way to navigate through their experiences except for the ability to change the channel.

That began to change with the advent of the Internet in the 1990s. As technology developed, consumers were given different tools through which interactive media was presented. Access to the Internet went from an expensive utility available only through dial-up to a wireless tool accessible with the touch of a finger.

Computers and laptops became household items and a necessity in the workplace. Smartphones made interacting with media easy and convenient.

Elements of Interactive Media

Unlike traditional media, interactive media is meant to enhance a user's experience. An interactive medium will require one more of the following elements to do that:

• Moving images and graphics
• Animation
• Digital Text
• Video
• Audio

A user can participate by manipulating one or more of these elements during their experience, something traditional media doesn't offer.

The Influences of Interactive Media

Interactive media doesn't just make people more active. It also gives them the power to communicate with people, companies, and organizations with whom they would normally have no contact. It allows the free flow and exchange of ideas and information.

Interactive media also has an educational component, making it a powerful learning tool. It allows and encourages students to become more active in their learning experiences and more collaborative and to be more in control of what they're learning.

Interactive media has changed the way people traditionally approach various personal and professional aspects of life, such as searching for a job, interviews, going to school, and advertising.

Examples of Interactive Media

People are surrounded by interactive media in the digital era. You'll find an example of this form of communication everywhere you look.

• Social networking websites such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram are examples of interactive media. These sites use graphics and text to allow users to share photos and information about themselves and to chat and play games.
• Video games are another type of interactive media. Players use controllers to respond to visual and sound cues on the screen that are generated by a computer program.
• You use apps if you have a mobile device like a smartphone. These forms of interactive media can help you figure out the weather, direct you to a desired location, choose and respond to news stories in which you're interested, and allow you to shop.
• Virtual reality (VR) is another form of interactive media. VR gives users a completely immersive experience, allowing them to delve into a world that's almost a carbon copy of reality. The only difference is that this world is digital.
  

The Bottom Line

Interactive media allows people to connect with friends, acquaintances or even businesses and organizations in a way that allows them to maintain some control over the encounter. As a consumer, you most likely engage in it every day. As a business owner, it provides you with a great tool to gauge customer satisfaction and to make changes to keep your business up and running in response to complaints and concerns.