The Effects of Video Availability

The number of websites that provide videos are exploding. This is made possible because of the drop in cost of bandwidth for content providers (Netflix is an example) to deliver it and an increase capacity and demand from the end user to access it. Many devices (roku, PS3,Xbox…)in the last two or three years are capable of connecting to the Internet as a medium, with Wifi leading the way, and more and more are able to show video. This combination provides more choices for the viewers.

Asides form popular websites like YouTube and Hulu, or Blip.tv, we now have websites like PBS (see Video.PBS.org) that provides their programs online.

This got me thinking:
How does the ability to access the videos, whether for entertainment or informational purposes, affect us? Are we better for having watched these videos or not?

How can we use these video contents to shape our world, our particular communities, and our own lives so that life is more meaningful and enriching?