How The Online Manifests In TV Dramas

The ever-evolving world of tech has changed the way stories are told on television. Most notably, the existence of the web has impacted the way a plot unfolds.

When mobiles became commonplace, television storytelling was forced to adjust: characters were no longer be unreachable. The Internet introduced more changes, forcing TV storytelling to adapt at an even faster rate.

Luckily tech is often either unreliable, or more accurately, rendered unreliable by the way humans interact with it—making for a good story.

Search engines FTW

Modern procedurals are more fast-paced than classic cop shows because information is readily at hand: characters can find details on events, people and locations in moments. Experts are one search—and video call—away. Leads can be followed up ASAP.

Castle searched on his mobile instead of the
police precinct computers. #butheremails 

On the flip side, the unpredictable nature of today’s search engines also allows for red herrings, and misguided leaps of supposed logic. The exact wording of a search can throw off the results; misinformation offered by the web can slow down the story, and enrich a mystery.

Random fact: Creating pretend search engines is easier for TV shows than dealing with copyright fees associated with popular platforms.

The Riverdale crew use a fake search engine called Sleuthster.

Can you track their mobile?

Tracking people via their phones has become quite a popular storytelling tool. Disproving an alibi used to take up screen time: now a phone call sets a person within a tower’s radius, often neatly placing them at the scene of a crime.

Borderliner tracks mobile phone usage to reveal vital clues.

Of course, mobiles aren’t embedded in the body, so location details aren’t irrefutable evidence. They can be left behind or used to plant false leads—or alibis. But since most people have their mobiles with them 24/7, this storytelling tool is becoming more common.

Apps or websites that illegally track are also ways for characters to step over the line. Installing an app that tracks a loved one, without their knowledge, can say a lot.

Safe brims with morally gray parental decisions, including
the lead using an app to track his daughter's phone.

But you can hack it, right?

A lot of shows have hackers now. If three people are friends in a TV series, one is bound to hack. Probs not statistically accurate IRL but hey, it makes for easier storytelling.

An average viewer doesn’t know much about coding which is probably why hackers have become common characters on television.

Superhero shows such as Arrow really like the tech-savvy.

Since the general public doesn’t have much idea of the limitations of hacking, writers feel quite free to play with the boundaries of what is believable.

In regards to their impact on the plot hackers are a bit like magic users in supernatural dramas: jumping the story across plot holes, manipulating data, and conveniently revealing restricted information.

On television, hackers work surprisingly best in the context of time travel. The ability to do unbelievable things on the web is easily explained away when the hacker is either from the future, or has somehow gained access to future tech.

Philip hacks with his future know-how on Travelers.

Random pet hate: The standard hacker trope involves super-fast typing, but what appears on the computer screen rarely matches the motion of the actor's hands. First in terms of speed, and second in the way the character's fingers move across the whole keyboard but the screen shows primarily numbers have been entered.

My suspension of disbelief doesn't extend that far.

Dark web and deep web

And no, they’re not the same thing. While shows now reference the dark web and deep web, often it is vague and cryptic, used more to emphasize the moral ambiguity of the “baddies”. 

For some scriptwriters the deep web and dark web have become the Internet equivalent of the dark side.

A few years back shows began exploring this concept as people become more accustomed to the Internet (and internet crime) but the results were mixed.

CSI: Cyber was cancelled after two seasons.

Mr. Robot brought in-depth representation of facets of the Internet to the small screen, garnering a more positive response from experienced coders. For the general populace the Internet is becoming less of a vague concept, and more of a complex system people are enjoying researching.

Mr. Robot doesn't shy from inundating the audience with accurate tech.

I'll find you in the game

Over the years online gaming has continued to grow in popularity. Recently there have been storytelling forays into the idea of community and connection, and how those boundaries can stretch.

Love o2o is a Chinese series about a romance
spanning the real world, and an online connection.

Of course, meeting strangers via an online game can have menacing undertones. The way people interact online can be different to how they function in everyday life: the beauty of  an online world can be a far cry from the mundanity, or even brutality of their offline environment.

Kiss Me First explores the intersection
 of online and offline reality.

This dichotomy is definitely a storytelling area that, in terms of television potential, hasn’t been fully utilized yet.

Did you see this post?

The Internet has proven a breeding ground for rumor and suggestion—the stuff of which many dramas are made.

Social media is one way to move a plot forward, offering a “reveal” that is similar to the old, listening in the hallway trope. Following a rival online via their social media can cause myriad complications. Treating another person’s interpretation of a situation as fact will always prove problematic (online and off).

Although technically a blog, Gossip Girl was a great example of
the Internet being used to fuel a drama, disseminating truths
and untruths with abandon.

As social media platforms continue to expand and grow, so does the negative potential, especially in bullying scenarios. More and more shows are exploring the consequences of online defamation and innuendo.

13 Reasons Why shows the dark side of teen
behavior on social media, and the consequences.

Occasionally the positives of social media platforms are also explored, mostly in the context of the reach it allows.

In the future more shows will probably explore the difference between the personality presented to the world on social media, and the reality—especially as that gap continues to widen.