Back then, you actually watched TV with other people. Like, you had a time, you sat down, maybe your family or friends were there, and you watched the new episode. Miss it? You missed it and had to wait for the rerun. It sucked, but it was kind of nice too. Everyone was seeing the same thing on the same night. The next day you could talk about it at school, at work or with friends. No one was ahead or behind. It felt like something small but shared.
Then streaming happened. Everything changed. Now, shows drop all at once. Some people watch them fast while others watch them slow. Some finish a whole season in a day whereas others take weeks. It’s easier, sure, but now no one is on the same episode. You can’t just talk about it without worrying about spoilers. The waiting, the guessing, yelling at the TV and reacting together is mostly gone now.
Watching live made it feel like you were part of it. “Game of Thrones,” “Lost,” whatever. You’d see it as it happened, and you could react immediately, make jokes, guess what might happen next and talk to people about it. Now that isn’t really there. We still watch stuff we like, but mostly alone or with just a couple of people. Everyone’s on their own schedule.
My husband and I make it a point to have designated shows we watch together, and neither of us can watch ahead. We occasionally did the same with our close friend, Harmony. It gave us something to bond over.
Streaming makes it easy to watch, but it’s kind of lonely too. There isn’t a countdown to the next episode or shared night ritual. It’s just you, your couch and maybe headphones. It’s private now, not shared.
It’s weird. The internet connects us, but we lost a simple thing. Maybe that’s why people still like live stuff, finales that come out weekly and award shows. You get to watch it together again, at least for a little while.
Streaming made TV better sometimes, sure, but it took something away too. That little shared thing? It’s gone more than you notice, and you don’t realize you miss it until you do.
