Interactive media
Interactive media are forms of communication in which users can influence, navigate, or contribute to content rather than only receive it passively.
Human–computer interaction: The study and design of interactions between people and computer systems. It explains how interactive media translate human actions into system responses.
Video game: An electronic game in which players interact with audiovisual content through an interface. Games make repeated player input and system response central to the experience.
Mass media: Communication channels that distribute content to large audiences, often from centralized producers. Its traditional broadcast model contrasts with user influence over interactive content.
Media convergence: The merging of media technologies, industries, and forms of content across platforms. Interactive experiences often combine formats and functions once separated across media.
User interface: The means through which a person gives input to and receives output from a system. Buttons, menus, and gestures expose the actions an interactive work allows.
Interactive documentary: A nonfiction work that lets users explore evidence, stories, or places through digital interaction. It uses navigation and choice to structure engagement with documentary material.
Linear narrative: A story presented in a fixed sequence from beginning to end. Interactive narratives can let choices change or reorder that sequence.
Digital divide: Unequal access to digital technologies and the skills or resources needed to use them. Participation depends on access, connectivity, and the ability to use interactive systems.
Feedback loop: A process in which a system's output affects its subsequent behavior or inputs. Responses to user actions make interaction feel consequential and guide further choices.
Educational technology: The use of tools and systems to support teaching, learning, and assessment. Interactive media can adapt exercises and feedback to learners' actions.