As someone born near the tail-end of the millennial era, I haven’t had much time to see what the golden age of TV entertainment has to offer. But as the 21st century progresses, what I have personally noticed is the decline of TV networks like classic cable.
It may seem fairly obvious, but TV portrayal has strayed far from its initial intent.
And of course, with additional help from company providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Roku, TV continues to change before our eyes.
TV’s initial introduction was as big as the first iPhone. Growing up, my mom used to tell me about how when she was little, my grandparents invested in a black-and-white TV set. My family has always been a little behind the trends, but for a family of seven in the ‘60s, it was a very big deal.
Saturday cartoons became a staple and news outlets got a new form of press. TV also became a tool to more quickly convey news across the country, saving lives in an emergency or just helping to spread information.
For the longest time, this was how everyone viewed the news.
Introduced to most classrooms in the ‘90s, TV began to serve more educational purposes as well.
Even today media continues to evolve and transform.
Today, we have phones, computers and other devices to keep us busy.
Don’t get me wrong, we still watch TV. It hasn’t disappeared quite yet.
But now we view shows on Roku, Hulu and Netflix instead of the ol’ standard classic cable.
Although times are changing and we have entered into a new era, there are still reasons for having new sources of media.
Social media on new devices is faster and easier than ever.
Especially with amber alerts and typical social media presence, it is impossible to not be kept up to date with our surroundings.
Cell phones are connected to our hip at all times, so we almost always have them at our disposal. Our phones are heavily incorporated into our lives and it is the new way of living.
Although this is nice, there are a few notable cons. It’s easier than ever to have device or social media addiction. We waste so much time on our phones and computers when we could be more productive.
The biggest con regarding usage of our phones and other devices is of course fake news. It spreads like wildfire. But without phones and Twitter, we wouldn’t have the famous phrase “fake news” at all.
Even though social media has changed the way we use our media, it is for the better. Times are changing.
Change is inevitable and it is silly to think we won’t advance in both technology and the way we continue to live.
It would be nice though if some day classic cable became mainstream once again. Maybe it could even replace our phones instead of radio.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected]