Wednesday 15 April 2009

Britain's got an online hit

The latest surprise from the annual talent show, Britain's Got Talent, is the way 47 year old Susan Boyle has become a global hit, and that's from only her audition!

The Scottish singer's remarkable rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables left the judges and viewers stunned.

What's more interesting is that while the show has been pulling in around 10 million viewers, the YouTube clip of Susan has so far rated more than 5 million hits on its own. 

At the same time, a large survey by The Office for National Statistics found some revealing changes to Briton's viewing habits:

Around half (49%) of all eight to 17-year-olds with internet access have a profile on a social networking site

• Ownership of a home computer has risen from 29% in 1998 to 70% in 2007

• Web use is higher among men than women but, overall, 34% listen to the radio or watch TV on the web and 12% use file-sharing sites

• Less than half (44%) of people in the UK read a national daily newspaper in 2008 compared with 72% in 1978

Evidently there are rapid changes happening and it will be interesting to see how educators keep pace with this societal change, when it comes to incorporating and reflecting these variations into classroom activities.