2023 is well and truly underway, and we are nearly through the long winter. That means that everyone is starting to have a clearer idea of which of the forecasted trends predicted back in 2022 are going to be here to stay, and which will fall by the wayside. There are always going to be one or two of the riskier predictions for the new year that will seem pretty silly by the summer. But one of the safest bets for the last couple of years has been that online equivalents of entertainment and socializing will continue to boom.
The massive push to digital that we have witnessed since March 2020 may have been more dramatic than a lot of people would have expected in 2019, but it was always going to happen. There are so many reasons why people around the world will continue to look for online versions. They are more accessible, they are often cheaper, and they are often so much easier. Here are some of the biggest activities and events that will continue to see massive success online.
VOD Film Releases
After a lot of uncertainty, it certainly seems that big Hollywood releases are back on the big screen. Last year saw massive returns for Paramount with Top Gun: Maverick and 20th Century Studios with Avatar: The Way Of Water. Both of these films were heavily marketed as movies that you simply had to see at the theatre. But at the same time, more and more films are inching towards simultaneous VOD release dates. Universal and Warner Bros have been some of the highest-profile users of this strategy, but they are not alone. Many people are happy to pay a premium rental price if it means that they don’t need to leave the house. It’s also important to note that studios are continuing to look for ways to draw subscribers to their streaming services, which is why Disney have taken gambles on movies like high-concept sci-fi movies like Prey for Disney+.
Online Gaming
Online gaming was healthily booming away long before 2020, but one of the biggest impacts that the pandemic era was so important for the industry is that so many newcomers decided to get involved. While it should be expected that some of those numbers will have dropped away, there are still new players who are discovering how much fun and how easy it is to play online. All you need is a device that supports the platform and a reliable internet connection. One of the biggest booms has been in online casino games. The amazing wealth of choice of games, coupled with the fact that you don’t need to spend money on everything from gas and parking to drinks and food, means that online casinos are incredibly popular. If you want to see what all the fuss is about and play some online slots, visit PlayLive. They offer the most exciting online gaming action that you can find online.
Online Dating
Much like online gaming, online dating has certainly been around for a long while at this point. There are many reasons why it has continued to be so popular, and there are plenty of indications that it may boom even further. One of the most convincing is related to this article, in that everyone is spending a lot more time online and a lot less time in the kind of situations where you might hope to bump into someone, you’d spark a connection with. With so many people working from home these days (for the moment at least), even the after-work drinks are becoming more and more of a thing of the past. What’s more, there has been a marked rise in the popularity of apps to help people find new friends outside of a romantic element. It’s also worth noting that there is a whole new generation of daters for whom meeting someone online is nothing out of the ordinary at all.
Online Property Viewing
Here is one that may be a little more of a risk to predict but bear with us. The property market has been subject to an awful lot of turbulence over the last few years, and the way that people look at houses and apartments to buy or rent has also been forced to change with it. Where virtual tours of a property used to be the kind of luxury that you would find when buying vast estates or hillside getaways, they are now seen as fairly standard for most potential homes. Of course, many would argue that there is never going to be any substitute for stepping foot into a property and seeing it with your own eyes (and that may be a convincing argument), but with rising costs of gas and public transport, remote viewings can be a big money and time saver.