If You Like It Then, You Should Put a Sign on It

Digital signage is an engaging and informative wave of new media influence.  Essentially, this format is understood as any sort of electronic billboard in which messages are sent out.  Signage is utilized in education, businesses, public transportation, hospitals, and advertising.  One of the most stated examples of digital signage is Times Square in New York City.  I think digital signage is so effective because of its ability to capture the interest of busy consumers, but I am simultaneously wary of its potential to distract.  Flashing lights and bright colors so easily warrant the attention of the target audience. In addition, because screens can be easily modified, one can change the outgoing message as often as they desire.  It is quick, cost effective, and resourceful to embrace digital signage.  I loved the idea of a digital soda machine. It is interactive and tailored to specific interest.  Not only does an electronic soda machine engross the reader in a stimulating game-like interaction, it also advertises the product effectively.  In this way, the product becomes more than the object, but also the means it took to attain it.  Every business wants someone to have an enjoyable shopping experience from start to end.  The one matter I worry about with digital signage is how dangerous it could become.  Signs, while beautifully intriguing and eye-catching, are also horribly distracting.  I fear for the safety of drivers everywhere as digital signage becomes more prominent in our cities and towns.  While billboards have been a common existence for ages, electronic signs reach an entirely new level of response.  Digital signs involve movement, and even sometimes sound, unlike the print billboards of the past. The more these signs are erected, the more likely car accidents will become.  The implementation of electronic billboards slightly counteracts the push to eliminate texting in driving situations, as they are just as distracting.  I hope for the sake of our generation that media sources have the foresight and logic to promote their ideas without endangering the community.