With 2024 seeing more people staying at home and working from home than ever before due to the COVID19 pandemic, the online entertainment industry is booming more than ever. In between Zoom meetings and coming up with creative ideas for a night in during the lockdowns, people turned to their laptops and smartphones for leisure needs along with working and keeping in touch with friends. The rise of games like Among Us and Fortnite and the increase in the use of social apps like TikTok and House Party were largely related to people looking for new online entertainment options during the pandemic. With this new trend of finding more entertainment online, what are some of the most exciting online entertainment trends for 2024?
1. Online Casinos
With traditional casinos closing down temporarily to encourage people to stay inside and some of the closings for good due to the pandemic, online casinos have become a firm favorite among fans of poker, blackjack, and other popular casino games. Online gambling has been a fun way to stay entertained during the pandemic and more people have turned to this method of online entertainment than any other. Online casinos offer a wide range of game options from classic table games like poker, which is still holding its own and is as popular as ever in the modern era of online gaming. Today, you can find online casino websites and apps where you can play against the computer or take part in poker tournaments. The industry is booming, and whatever game you like to play, you can check out a huge range of options at OnlineCasinos.co.uk, a useful and informative site where you can get reviews of the different online casino sites available, find out more about the games that they offer and learn about new player bonuses and rewards that are up for grabs.
2. Social Deduction Games
Social deduction games, where players deceive and murder other players in order to survive became seriously popular during the pandemic thanks to the surprise hit Among Us, which kept lots of us going throughout the lockdowns in 2024. In Among Us, players need to work together to find the ‘imposter’ while the imposter’s main goal is to kill everybody off. These types of survival games are becoming hugely popular as they are a lot of fun to play and provide a great distraction from what’s going on in the world right now. Play as an agent, hacker, or double-agent in Untrusted, or look out for Republic of Jungle, available to play on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation where your job is to either sabotage or stop the leak as a part of the President’s loyal workforce in the ‘Bite House’.
3. Social Media
It might seem hard to believe given the huge range of social media that’s already available, but there are even more in store this year. TikTok took the world by storm in 2024 with more and more people signing up to take part in challenges, watch videos, and make funny clips to keep themselves and their friends entertained. Other apps like WeChat now have over a billion users around the world. Weibo, a predominantly Chinese micro-blogging site is similar to Twitter and is getting more and more popular this year. LINE is another app to watch out for, a South Korean platform that is similar to WhatsApp by allowing you to connect with family and friends. What sets it apart from the competition is that you can do various other things in the app like ordering taxis and making automatic payments. SNOW is another South Korean app that’s quite similar to Snapchat, allowing you to share photos with some cool augmented reality features to enjoy. Blogging and story sharing is another thing that has been on the rise since the pandemic. People are turning to sites like The Doe to gain and share insight on very real issues, topics, and opinions.
4. Virtual Tours
Virtual tours are a search term that spiked during a lockdown, with more and more people looking for ways that they could explore more of the world without leaving the comfort of their own homes. If you are missing out on traveling this year, virtual tours are a fun alternative with popular destinations including the White House, the Sistine Chapel, Disney World and Disneyland, Graceland, the Natural History Museum, London, the Vatican, Statue of Liberty, and more. While your dream holiday might have been postponed for the third time since the pandemic, there’s still an option for you to explore the Eiffel Tower or enjoy a day in Disney World virtually.
5. Watch Parties
While cinemas are back open and operational, many of us have come to appreciate the comfort of watching movies at home. And with streaming services like Disney+ now offering all the latest Disney and Marvel releases on the app, all you need is a laptop, computer, smart TV, or streaming stick to access some of the best shows and movies at home. The Netflix Party extension brought a new social element to watching our favorite shows and movies during the pandemic, allowing users to live chat while watching the same shows and movies together. Despite the option of being able to go to the cinema now, this is likely to be a trend that people will continue taking advantage of for those nights in. You can also arrange watch parties with your friends on YouTube, Disney+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
6. Learning
Online learning also became a fun and interesting way for people to entertain themselves during the COVID19 pandemic. And, it wasn’t just academic learning that boomed online during a lockdown. Many people used their newfound free time to learn new hobbies and skills that they didn’t have the time to do before, like cocktail making, cooking a cuisine that they love, or crafting. Throughout the lockdowns, Google Trends reported large upticks for search terms such as ‘learn online’ and ‘online classes’, and sites like Udemy made it easier for people to spend some time learning something new or honing their professional skills with special deals and discounts.
Over the past year, online entertainment has become hugely popular with people staying at home. These are just some of the biggest new trends in online entertainment that are set to continue.
