We got half a snow day! Praise Sparty! Nothing like a pile of snow outside my door to make me curl up in bed and drink ... hot chocolate, of course. Gotta stay warm.
With nothing better to do on Monday morning than ignore my emails and knock out my Netflix queue, I connected my laptop to my TV and snuggled in. Meanwhile, in our living room, my roommate camped out with the channel steadfastly set to TLC. She uses the TV out there, I don’t. We still pay for a cable package, but outside of watching hockey games, the TV is hardly touched.
With so many ways to catch up on our favorite shows, what’s keeping us from cutting out cable providers entirely?
Not only is getting rid of cable a great way to trim down a budget, it also saves a bunch of time. Sure, there’s a certain kind of perverse joy getting sucked into a new, horrible show, but the amount of hours lost on “Whale Wars: Viking Shores” on Animal Planet, “My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding” on TLC, “The Curse of Oak Island” on History Channel or “Wizard Wars” on Syfy add up. Quickly.
I call for some deep personal introspection when I ask this: Would you really be watching if the choices weren’t between bad TV and whatever homework you have that day?
Probably not.
As a college student working two jobs, taking 15 credits per semester, carving out time for friends and oh, don’t forget those “life-sustaining” things we have to do like eat and sleep, conforming to a set TV schedule is almost impossible. So don’t do it!
Between Netflix, Hulu, episodes available on network websites and all the other (totally legal) ways to watch TV on the Internet, there’s no worry about missing your favorite shows.
It’s easier than ever to watch an episode of your favorite sitcom over lunch, less than 24 hours after it aired. Or you can binge watch that one show you’ve always been meaning to on an unexpected snow day. Find comfort in re-watching your favorite show for the second (or maybe third) time.
However, when it comes to shows that you just have to watch live, say, “How to Get Away With Murder” on ABC, then lean on your friends who haven’t realized the freedom of life without cable, and exploit them mercilessly. Have viewing parties with them — make it a social event. Double check beforehand to make sure they’re not the type of person to talk through a show though, or “How to Get Away with Murder” becomes less entertaining and more educational.
