Stephenson's Play Theory and Online News Reading

Abstract

As children know (but adults sometimes forget), using a computer is "fun."
Media that use a computer to deliver news and other timely information
provide an opportunity to explore William Stephenson's play theory of
mass communication in a new light. These online or interactive media
encourage exploration. They respond instantly to individual input. They
require us to make self-enhancing personal choices; otherwise, they just
sit there. Yet in some ways, interactive media also are work. For both
the user and the producer of their content, they offer intriguing ways
to conceptualize what one does with the news of the day.