For those of us who can remember growing up in the ‘00s and trying to keep up with international pop culture in the form of TV shows, movies, and video games, those memories are often plagued by the hopelessness that came when the content you were looking for couldn’t be found at any of the three stores in Dhaka you could count on. If they didn’t have it, your last resort was relying on a relative abroad. Personally, I remember being particularly annoying when it came to a certain Pokémon game. 

Nowadays, it’s much easier. Services such as Netflix, Steam, Spotify (among many more) allow us, no matter where we are in the world, to access our favourite content. While access to information is great, the bigger pro for me comes in exploration. To have platforms such as Spotify and Steam allows us to explore and broaden our tastes in music and games respectively, especially when it comes to unearthing gems from smaller, independent creators. 

– Talat Ahmed, Sub-editor, SHOUT