Thursday, March 12, 2020

I still need the broadcast



The world might be fully embracing the ease of the streaming video, but there is something about broadcast television that I crave, and that's why I'll never make the full switch to the new paradigm.

Even though I edit a national news website all day long, I still watch the news every night on the telly, and there is something weirdly comforting about watching something at the same time as other people, even if you have no idea who or where they are.

It's also the immediacy and intimacy of the broadcast that I need, and it gives me a weird sense of community when people are talking to me live through the TV. When we're all in our own bubbles, I'll take that community where I can get it, no matter how lame it is.

And when I watch DVDs or streams or Youtube videos on the laptop, I don't have that feeling at all. I  feel strangely alone, like I'm not sharing anything with anybody.

I know this is an anachronistic attitude, but I still love that connection. When we're watching broadcast TV, we're all in it together.

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