Wang Xiayu: Digital technology stimulates new momentum for cultural consumption

Source: Economic Daily

In today's era, digital technology is increasingly integrated into the whole process of economic and social development, and the cultural industry empowered by digital technology is undergoing transformation and reshaping, and cultural consumption shows great development potential. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "it is necessary to comply with the development trend of digital industrialization and industrial digitalization, accelerate the development of new cultural formats, transform and upgrade traditional cultural formats, and improve quality, efficiency and core competitiveness". The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China made important arrangements for the "prosperity and development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries", and proposed to "implement the national cultural digitalization strategy, improve the modern public cultural service system, and innovate the implementation of cultural projects to benefit the people". We should make good use of the innovative power brought by the Internet and the digital economy, promote the deep integration of high-tech such as artificial intelligence and the cultural industry through the digitization, productization, industrialization, scale and internationalization of cultural resources, create new forms of cultural services, cultural experiences and industrial models, and further stimulate new momentum for cultural consumption.

In recent years, the extensive application of digital technology has changed the traditional way of cultural production and dissemination, and broadened the development space and innovation path of the cultural industry.

Digital technology has given cultural consumption and production a broader space and richer forms. Before the rise of digital technology, cultural consumption was often limited by geography and transportation. The rise of digital technology has broken down this limitation, making cultural consumption a broader shared experience. Whether it's through reading literature online, watching digital movies, or participating in virtual reality cultural experiences, consumers are able to enjoy more diverse and personalized cultural products and services. The development of virtual reality and augmented reality technology has brought a new way of experience to the cultural consumption market. Consumers can experience immersive cultural scenes through VR equipment, such as virtual museums, virtual concerts, etc., which enhances the immersion and interest of cultural consumption.

Digital technologies have created enormous potential and demand for cultural consumption and production. With the improvement of living standards and cultural literacy, especially digital literacy, people's demand for diversity of cultural products and services is growing. At the same time, the development of digital technology has also provided more diversified choices for cultural consumption, prompting people to participate more actively in the design and innovation of cultural products. This transformation from passive acceptance to active participation has injected new vitality and impetus into the development of the cultural industry. In addition, the increasing popularity of mobile payment and blockchain technology can not only realize the fast and secure transaction of cultural products, but also effectively protect the copyright of cultural products.

The wide application of digital technology has brought unprecedented opportunities for innovation and development to cultural consumption and production. The development of digital technology has provided people with more opportunities for cultural creation, display and dissemination, thereby enriching the diversity of cultural products, so that high-quality cultural products can be more widely accepted and loved by consumers. At the same time, tools such as social media and livestreaming platforms enable consumers to interact and communicate in real-time and deeply engage with cultural events. The application of these technologies not only improves the accessibility of cultural experience, but also enhances its sense of interactivity and participation, providing new possibilities for the production, communication and marketing of cultural industries. Through data analysis and other means, cultural enterprises can accurately locate the target audience, provide personalized and high-quality cultural products and services, and realize the optimization and intelligent management of the industrial chain, so as to enhance the core competitiveness of the industry.

At the same time, it should also be recognized that in the digital age, the development of cultural industries and cultural consumption is also facing many challenges and problems. For example, information fragmentation can easily lead to the shallowness of cultural consumption; The application of new technologies has allowed for a greater scope for the dissemination of works, but at the same time, it has also brought new problems to the copyright protection of cultural products. In the face of these challenges, we need to comprehensively consider and take effective measures, focusing on promoting the combination of culture and technology, using cultural digital infrastructure and service platforms to empower both cultural demand and supply, innovating digital cultural consumption methods and ecosystems, and continuously stimulating the new vitality of cultural industry and cultural consumption.

First, accelerate the digital transformation of industries and enrich the supply of cultural consumption. In the context of the continuous improvement of socio-economic and scientific and technological levels, the comprehensive deepening of technology application has led to the increasing number of innovative cultural products and services. At the same time, with the improvement of people's requirements for cultural taste, appreciation level and service experience, the digital transformation of the cultural industry is not only an inevitable choice to adapt to the requirements of the digital economy era, but also an important measure to improve the quality of industrial development and build a modern public cultural service system. It is necessary to rely on the innovative model of "high-quality culture + digital technology + mature industry" to accelerate the innovation of digital cultural products, formats and communication, revitalize cultural relics, venues, performing arts and other cultural resources, improve the supply level of high-quality digital cultural products, and lead the trend of cultural consumption. Using digital technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality, we will coordinate and promote the innovation of industrial development models such as digital film and television, digital publishing, digital performing arts, and cultural creativity, so as to realize the deep integration of digital technology with the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and realize the digital transformation of all elements of the cultural industry.

Second, build a digital cultural service platform and expand the space for cultural consumption. The wide application of digital technology is conducive to creating more and more novel consumption scenarios, so that consumers can immerse themselves in interactive cultural fun while consuming cultural products. This requires us to continue to innovate, not only to use the existing digital technology means to consolidate and expand the display space of traditional culture in the digital field, but also to embed cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, blockchain and other cutting-edge technologies into the whole chain and process of cultural industry innovation, promote the application of cutting-edge virtual reality space technology in cultural entertainment, tourism, exhibition, art, sports and other consumption scenarios, form an online and offline integration and interaction, three-dimensional coverage of cultural service supply system, and build a more imaginative, A smarter new environment for cultural consumption.

Third, encourage the combination of innovation and prudential supervision to create a good industrial development ecology. The digital culture industry is a technology-driven and innovation-intensive emerging field, and while encouraging innovation, it is also necessary to ensure compliance with laws and regulations. For example, in view of the copyright infringement problems that may be brought about by digital technology, the relevant departments can strengthen copyright protection, establish more perfect laws and regulations, and use advanced technology to effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the cultural industry; In view of the non-standard dissemination of information, it is necessary to strengthen supervision and standardize the content management mechanism, so as to encourage relevant parties to provide cultural products and services more responsibly, and provide assistance for creating a good development environment.

(Source of this article: Economic Daily Author: Wang Xiayu Author's Affiliation: School of Sociology, China University of Political Science and Law)