I am a student of human behaviour. When the Internet first became a thing, we used to compare online and offline behaviour. As if we were one person while we sit at our computer and another person in real life. Maybe it was like that in those days. I am talking ten, fifteen years ago.

The world of communication was segmented into different channels: television, radio, print etc. Talking like that does not even make sense any more. Today a typical user experience includes interacting with content and with people across a number of platforms, in a more or less fluid fashion.

Vinu George, Market Intelligence and Customer Insight Manager at Microsoft, recently described this in an article in VUE magazine as follows: We are now moving to a five- screen world…large-screen TVs, gaming consoles, laptops/PCs, tablets and smartphones. Content is now consumed and created across these screens. We are moving from one screen to the next to the next, reading, watching, posting, commenting, sharing online, sharing online offline (Look, mom, have you seen this video?).

Up until recently, I have not been a technology junky at all. But with four out of the five interfaces at my disposal, and discovering the infinite possibilities of social media, I find it more and more difficult to differentiate between online and real life, it is all just life.

Having school-aged children also gives me a privileged view into the future of online immersion. Many parenting experts advise parents on limiting screen time for their kids. Which I agree with. The trouble is, there is not just brain-dead consumption of junk going on, there are lives lived, and they are lived in part through electronic platforms.

As a market researcher, I wonder if our methodologies really address this level of immersion in the online world and the fluidity with which online and offline experiences are intertwined. Rather than focusing on one interviewing medium and throwing in a bit of social media analysis or a few ethnographic observations for good measure, how much richer and more insightful could a truly integrated multi-media exploration of behaviours and attitudes be?