Audiences Then and Now

When I think of how audiences were back then, I think of how my grandparents used to watch musicians play music in the town square or local café. That audiences back then weren't always formally organized, but that it depended on where you were at the time and what your preferences were. Yes there were organized sporting events or plays put on in neighbouring villages, but many people couldn't always afford to travel or they had too many responsibilities at home and therefore had no time to attend. However when my parents were growing up, they experienced slightly more leisure time than my grandparents, which enabled them to spend more time with their friends going to movies and concerts. Also, my parents enjoyed playing sports and so not only were they part of audiences watching other sporting events, they were also at times the ones being watched by various audiences. This gives you a slightly different experience of the audience because you are viewing the audience as they are viewing you. So depending on the performer, some people feed off of the audiences' energy in order to perform better and they see the audience as a supportive fan base. Since being a performer myself whether as an athlete or as a singer, I have found that audiences enjoy being captivated by something and that if they become bored or disinterested they will leave a performance or dive into a different audience altogether. What I mean by this is that in today's society, we don't necessarily need to physically leave a place in order to become a part of a different audience, but that we can do this virtually through the technology that many people have at their fingertips. Whether you log onto Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, you then become part of that audience as well. Thus, being part of an audience doesn't always entail going to a physical venue, and instead those who may not otherwise be geographically connected, are now part of a collective virtual audience.