Is the End of TV Near?

The entertainment world has become a much more broad network in just the past decade. Several more companies with access to recorded television and movies have developed and are becoming more popular in today’s society. As people’s range of content expands, there is a decrease in the amount of television viewers. Students are spending more time watching Netflix on their phone rather than turning on their TVs during free time.

For some students at PV High, watching Youtube on their mobile devices is much more convenient than having to turn on the television. Entertainment companies such as Youtube and Netflix can be efficient for students who do not have the time in their busy schedules to keep up with television shows.

PV High sophomore Ariana Mardini claimed, “I watch The Walking Dead on the T.V. every Sunday, but lately I haven’t been watching it because of school. Work has been in the way of that.”

Having the entire collections of series at hand can make watching television series much easier and more accessible. Netflix allows students to start and finish an episode at any time, and students do not have to go through the anticipation of waiting for the next one. The struggle of having to wait for next week’s episode is solved with Netflix’s features.

Sophomore Ryan Ammann said, “You can just watch [shows] whenever and you don’t have to record it because you already have it.”

As for Youtube, students are given a variety of content that is not limited to leisure shows. This content can span from online tutorials to vlogs of a person’s day.

Sophomore Dane Dawson said, “On Youtube, you can search up whatever you want to. With T.V. you have to wait for the next football game . . . it’s more accessible.”

However, a few students believe that there are disadvantages to abandoning television as an entertainment source. Netflix can be detrimental to students, as it promotes procrastination through binge-watching.

Lucy Battelle, a sophomore, said, “All the episodes are on Netflix. And then I just binge-watch all of them.”

Television can provide something to Palos Verdes High students that Netflix and Youtube cannot immediately give: news. Breaking news cannot be aired on entertainment services such as Netflix and Youtube. Though students do not always watch the news, it is still a major form of communication and updating of new world events.

Freshman Sydney Singh said, “If it’s like news, it’s important for you to stay updated . . . you have to know what’s happening around the world.”

According to students, television shows form an important role in their childhoods. The lack of familiarity of current television shows causes a lack of interest in modern television for these students.

Battelle also said, “All the good shows are non-existent. You want to go back to the Disney days, where it was good. But now those [shows] are gone.”

Other PV students found several benefits to watching television in comparison to Netflix.

Sophomore Alexis Dugel said, “I think T.V. is good for people who can’t or don’t want to commit to watching an entire season of a show. I think it can be more cost-effective depending on how much you pay . . . cheaper than Netflix.”

Netflix and Youtube have become excessively influential in the modern world with its convenient and technologically sophisticated tools. Their popularity may only increase within the next years, unfortunately leaving less viewers for streaming television. However, television remains a significant part of where students find their entertainment. New showings of episodes along with broadcast news form an advantage that television has over other entertainment services, and students are able to limit themselves to the amount of time they spend watching shows. Without television as prominent source of information and a regulation factor of relaxation time, students would be able to spend hours watching the convenient, yet inconvenient services known as Netflix and Youtube.