Where have the days gone when sitting around the television after dinner was the family way. After all, watching television can entertain, educate, and inform. The value of family life can increase when we spend time together. The ability of television to entertain supports this togetherness to happen.
Before the digital revolution, if I were home, I had to watch whatever was on and usually on the only television in the house. I had to wait for a specific night of the week to view my favourite shows, and there wasn't too much choice anyway. The video cassette recorder allowed me to time-shift my favourite shows, only to be frustrated when someone taped over the most compelling episode of a show before I got time to watch it.
The rise of the internet has been the main reason why television has changed. Streaming services can now offer a vast variety of shows, catering to different tastes. As a result, I can choose to watch anything I like and watch repeats of a show as many times as I want. I can also binge watch whole seasons of a show, thus avoiding the weekly wait for the next episode to come along.
It is now rare for my family to sit around the television to watch the same show. Many nights we are all off watching our own devices, streaming what we want to watch as individuals, never as a family.
A digital revolution and a lot more choice is what happened to television, and my family time is the poorer for it.
Before the digital revolution, if I were home, I had to watch whatever was on and usually on the only television in the house. I had to wait for a specific night of the week to view my favourite shows, and there wasn't too much choice anyway. The video cassette recorder allowed me to time-shift my favourite shows, only to be frustrated when someone taped over the most compelling episode of a show before I got time to watch it.
The rise of the internet has been the main reason why television has changed. Streaming services can now offer a vast variety of shows, catering to different tastes. As a result, I can choose to watch anything I like and watch repeats of a show as many times as I want. I can also binge watch whole seasons of a show, thus avoiding the weekly wait for the next episode to come along.
It is now rare for my family to sit around the television to watch the same show. Many nights we are all off watching our own devices, streaming what we want to watch as individuals, never as a family.
A digital revolution and a lot more choice is what happened to television, and my family time is the poorer for it.