You May Be Killing The Traditional TV Industry With Streaming

You May Be Killing The Traditional TV Industry With Streaming

The modern battle between online streaming and cable television.
Stacy Kappel
Stacy Kappel Mar 27, 2017
540
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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.

Cover Image Credit: Music Box BG
Stacy Kappel
Stacy Kappel Mar 27, 2017
At University of South Florida

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It's Time To Thank Your First Roommate

Not the horror story kind of roommate, but the one that was truly awesome.
Katie Ward
Katie Ward Feb 1, 2016
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Nostalgic feelings have recently caused me to reflect back on my freshman year of college. No other year of my life has been filled with more ups and downs, and highs and lows, than freshman year. Throughout all of the madness, one factor remained constant: my roommate. It is time to thank her for everything. These are only a few of the many reasons to do so, and this goes for roommates everywhere.

You have been through all the college "firsts" together.

If you think about it, your roommate was there through all of your first college experiences. The first day of orientation, wishing you luck on the first days of classes, the first night out, etc. That is something that can never be changed. You will always look back and think, "I remember my first day of college with ____."

You were even each other's first real college friend.

You were even each other's first real college friend.

Months before move-in day, you were already planning out what freshman year would be like. Whether you previously knew each other, met on Facebook, or arranged to meet in person before making any decisions, you made your first real college friend during that process.

SEE ALSO: 18 Signs You're A Little Too Comfortable With Your Best Friends

The transition from high school to college is not easy, but somehow you made it out on the other side.

It is no secret that transitioning from high school to college is difficult. No matter how excited you were to get away from home, reality hit at some point. Although some people are better at adjusting than others, at the times when you were not, your roommate was there to listen. You helped each other out, and made it through together.

Late night talks were never more real.

Remember the first week when we stayed up talking until 2:00 a.m. every night? Late night talks will never be more real than they were freshman year. There was so much to plan for, figure out, and hope for. Your roommate talked, listened, laughed, and cried right there with you until one of you stopped responding because sleep took over.

You saw each other at your absolute lowest.

It was difficult being away from home. It hurt watching relationships end and losing touch with your hometown friends. It was stressful trying to get in the swing of college level classes. Despite all of the above, your roommate saw, listened, and strengthened you.

...but you also saw each other during your highest highs.

After seeing each other during the lows, seeing each other during the highs was such a great feeling. Getting involved on campus, making new friends, and succeeding in classes are only a few of the many ways you have watched each other grow.

There was so much time to bond before the stresses of college would later take over.

Freshman year was not "easy," but looking back on it, it was more manageable than you thought at the time. College only gets busier the more the years go on, which means less free time. Freshman year you went to lunch, dinner, the gym, class, events, and everything else possible together. You had the chance to be each other's go-to before it got tough.

No matter what, you always bounced back to being inseparable.

Phases of not talking or seeing each other because of business and stress would come and go. Even though you physically grew apart, you did not grow apart as friends. When one of you was in a funk, as soon as it was over, you bounced right back. You and your freshman roommate were inseparable.

The "remember that one time, freshman year..." stories never end.

Looking back on freshman year together is one of my favorite times. There are so many stories you have made, which at the time seemed so small, that bring the biggest laughs today. You will always have those stories to share together.

SEE ALSO: 15 Things You Say To Your Roommates Before Going Out

The unspoken rule that no matter how far apart you grow, you are always there for each other.

It is sad to look back and realize everything that has changed since your freshman year days. You started college with a clean slate, and all you really had was each other. Even though you went separate ways, there is an unspoken rule that you are still always there for each other.

Your old dorm room is now filled with two freshmen trying to make it through their first year. They will never know all the memories that you made in that room, and how it used to be your home. You can only hope that they will have the relationship you had together to reflect on in the years to come.


Cover Image Credit: Katie Ward
Katie Ward
Katie Ward Feb 1, 2016
At Duquesne University

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It's 2019 And Gun Violence Is Still All Around Us

Every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns and hundreds more are shot and injured. The effects of gun violence extend far beyond these casualties.

Paige Ryan
Paige Ryan Mar 18, 2019
42
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A year ago, my cousin's husband was murdered at his job along with a co-worker. The weapon used to commit the double homicide? A shotgun purchased at 4:15 p.m. on the day of the murders from a pawnshop in town. The perpetrator asked for the cheapest shotgun and paid $145 for it. My cousin lost her life partner and their son lost his father.

$145 to take the life of two men who had families and loved ones.

On March 15, 2019, I saw news reports of a hate-fueled mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. At least 49 people were killed and 20 seriously injured in two mosques. Last year, in October 2018, a hate crime occurred in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania, in a Jewish synagogue, leaving eleven dead and six injured. In November 2017, a gunman killed 26 people at a small Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. Nine people died in 2015 at an African Methodist Episcopal church after a shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

This list could go on and on. Shootings at schools, malls, movie theaters, concerts; almost any public place you can imagine. Many of them are based on racial or religious discrimination.

A crime I will never forget is the hate-crime committed against Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha. They were killed in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in February 2017, for no reason other than their race, their religion, and a dispute over a parking spot. As all three of them were leaders in their schools and communities, a foundation has been set up in their honor in the hopes of bringing awareness to and ending implicit racial biases.


Another name I will never forget, Eve Carson. She was the student body president at UNC-Chapel Hill who was shot and killed in March 2008. Gun violence happens every day in our communities and leaves a lasting impact on all of us, whether we realize it or not.

I'm not going to lie. My favorite kinds of shows are crime dramas, real or fiction. Guns and gun violence are prominent in some of my favorite shows, and some of my favorite characters use them with no hesitation. We, as fans, know these images impact us. In film and TV, a weapon — most often, a gun — is the equalizer, the thing that gives you the power to turn the tables on all those things holding you back.

Gun violence is prevalent, not only in entertainment but also in reality. Yet so far, a tragedy of this nature has yet to break the hold that the gun seems to have over American culture.

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I'm not here to try to force my personal opinion on you. But I think we should ask ourselves questions.

Why do states impose 'waiting periods' for abortions but not for gun purchases? Why can a man just walk in and out of a store with a cheap gun that he will use later that day to destroy lives?

Why are there so many hate crimes with such a blatant disregard for life, and no discrimination on who's on the other side of the gun?

We are so overloaded with information on a daily basis that it's starting to blur together. These things keep happening because we just keep arguing about it and never do anything real to prevent it from happening again.

Paige Ryan
Paige Ryan Mar 18, 2019
At North Carolina State University

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