singleviewing

Singleviewing refers to the design, delivery, and interpretation of media content for a single audience member or user, rather than for a shared or public viewing context. It emphasizes individualized experiences, personalized recommendations, and user-specific interfaces. The term is used across streaming platforms, educational software, digital signage, and immersive technologies to distinguish one-to-one engagement from multi-user or broadcast modes.

Origins and development: advances in data analytics, user profiling, and on-device processing have made singleviewing a mainstream approach in the 2010s and 2020s, aligning media delivery with the preferences and needs of an individual viewer. The concept is closely linked to personalized content, adaptive interfaces, and privacy-respecting design.

Applications: in streaming services, singleviewing enables tailored content suggestions, playback controls, and watch histories that influence future recommendations. In education, it supports individualized trajectories, feedback, and assessment. In virtual and augmented reality, it supports calibrated field of view and context-aware interactions. Digital signage and kiosks may also adopt singleviewing to present content based on a known user or demographic profile, while still supporting optional shared experiences when needed.

Technologies and considerations: implementing singleviewing relies on identity management, data collection and analysis, recommender systems, and responsive interfaces. Designers must address privacy, consent, data minimization, and accessibility. System performance, device compatibility, and cross-platform consistency are also important.

Criticisms and impact: critics warn that singleviewing can reduce shared cultural experiences, intensify information bubbles, and exclude those with limited access to personalized services. Proponents argue it enhances relevance, learning efficiency, and user engagement, provided privacy safeguards are in place.

Related concepts include personalized recommendations and user-centric design.