Over the past few years, there has been a dramatic spike in the use of online television streaming services, compared to the steady decline in standard cable television. With the invention and progression of innovative modern technology in this new age, millennials have become hooked to the internet; billions of services and pieces of information are now at the fingertips of humans around the globe, with just one single swipe or click. As the classic television services of older generations struggle to stay above water, online streaming services continue to sweep the earth by storm, with a plateau unpredictable anytime soon. This is due to a compilation and variety of additional features and services included in online streaming websites.
One pro of utilizing online streaming services is the option of watching shows any time of the day, anywhere you go with a mobile device. My good friend, Fatima Medina, prefers using online streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon TV, to watch television shows on her own time: "With streaming, I don't have to get to the TV at a certain time to watch a show or sit through commercials. I can pause an episode and then watch the rest of it when I have time."
Many millennials these days feel entitled to the vast array of services and resources that can eliminate any inconvenience in their lives. My good friend, Adam Winton, believes cables services have personally cheated him in the past: "I don't think it's fair to the viewer that I should pay for a service and also have to sit through ten minutes of commercials." Although I am only poking fun humor at us millennials, it is true that online streaming services eliminate pesky advertisements from shows, and online streaming services do provide additional complimentary services within their websites, like rewind options and unlimited shows for fairly cheap prices.
It is predicted that traditional television subscriptions will decline by 1.5% per year over the next decade alone (Brad Tuttle, time.com/money). Cable television providers and stations have become increasingly aware and anxious about the future of cable television, or the inevitable death of cable television in the very near future. Millennials will create and lead the future of technological advancement, and millennials, almost entirely, will determine this potentially fatal outcome for cable television with each increasing subscription to online streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. Whichever online streaming service you may prefer, it is ultimately your decision to subscribe to these services that are unintentionally bringing cable services to the ground. Only time can tell if this will be for the better or worse of television.
