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How Watching Television Became a Chore
WFB ^

Posted on 02/11/2024 4:23:46 PM PST by Rummyfan

A young woman I know broke it off with a young man after three dates but declared that it was a pretty successful relationship anyway. "He showed me a couple of great Amazon Prime series," she told me. "And he turned me on to Derry Girls."

Derry Girls, for the record, is a British comedy set in Northern Ireland in the 1990s and it’s hilarious. But there are more than 600 scripted television series currently on the constellation of streaming services competing for your credit card number, so if you don’t go on a dedicated search for that specific title, you’ll probably miss it. And that’s one reason there’s a new category of first-date small talk: What are you watching? is the new What’s your sign?

Watching TV has never been so baffling. You don’t just walk in the house and flop down in front of the TV and start flipping around anymore. Watching television in 2024 requires what psychologists and self-help gurus call intentionality. You have to know what you’re looking for and exactly where to find it, which means the entire process usually starts with a Google search. We’re all familiar with today’s Television Catechism. It goes: What was that show we wanted to see, again? Followed by: Which one of the thingy’s is it on? And ends in an exasperated: Do we even get that one?

If you’re at my house, the Anglo-Saxon vulgarism for sexual intercourse is inserted before the words "show," "see," "on," "get," and "one" in the above. It’s also possible you will find yourself re-inputting a forgotten password, which will inspire more profanity.

(Excerpt) Read more at freebeacon.com ...


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It's on Amazon... It's on Apple... It's on Netflix.... Sorry. I don't do any of them!

It's like dating now. In the old days all you needed was a number. Now you need the right app too! Aagh!

1 posted on 02/11/2024 4:23:46 PM PST by Rummyfan
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To: Rummyfan

BTW, Derry Girls is hilarious.


2 posted on 02/11/2024 4:24:09 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: Rummyfan

Flipping between channels, dodging yet-another homosexual outburst.


3 posted on 02/11/2024 4:25:02 PM PST by linMcHlp
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To: Rummyfan

This was easily solved. I gave up watching TV.


4 posted on 02/11/2024 4:26:11 PM PST by Noumenon (You're not voting your way out of this. KTF)
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To: Rummyfan
The experience is awful b/c there is no user experience. All the apps are silo'd off, they don't integrate, the content is on a carousel, navigation of menu systems difficult.

Not really worth the effort anymore, TBH. Easier to grab a book and read.

5 posted on 02/11/2024 4:29:01 PM PST by HonkyTonkMan ( )
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To: HonkyTonkMan

What do you mean silo’d off?


6 posted on 02/11/2024 4:35:53 PM PST by Chickensoup
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To: HonkyTonkMan
Not really worth the effort anymore, TBH. Easier to grab a book and read.

I agree.

Also, my 'On Demand' advertises free stuff. But then requires you subscribe for a fee to get what you clicked on. No thank you.

7 posted on 02/11/2024 4:35:56 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: Rummyfan

I can successfully watch YouTube.

I’ve made several recent attempts to watch TV, and I just can’t figure it out. I may never try again.


8 posted on 02/11/2024 4:37:51 PM PST by ClearCase_guy
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To: Rummyfan

Sometimes after dinner, hubby will say “let’s watch a show!” Taking into account his ADHD, I zero in on comedies or action movies. I go through the trending or new section trying to find something good that also isn’t woke on Netflix. Since it’s rare to find anything that fits the bill, I then turn to Amazon, Hulu, Max, and Apple and follow the same procedure as above. By the time I find something, half an hour has passed…and hubby is asleep on the couch. Happens every single time, lol.


9 posted on 02/11/2024 4:37:52 PM PST by Prince of Space (Trump 2024!)
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To: Rummyfan

They’ve become too specialized where, if I watched tv, would have to purchase 10 channels in order to watch the types of shows I like to watch. That’s like $200/month for 20 hours of tv.

The should go back to simpler choices, like A&E and Science Fiction and Crime channel and leave things be.


10 posted on 02/11/2024 4:39:50 PM PST by Jonty30 (In a nuclear holocaust, there is always a point in time where the meat is cooked to perfection. )
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To: Prince of Space

LOL indeed. What’s really depressing? I go to ‘On Demand’ for free movies. There are 4000 or so listed. I can’t find a single one I want to watch!


11 posted on 02/11/2024 4:42:41 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: Rummyfan

Television in most iterations is mind-numbing, boring, and pointless.


12 posted on 02/11/2024 4:45:30 PM PST by neverevergiveup
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To: Chickensoup
Silod' off from each other meaning each app is isolated from the other ones.

For example, say you are a paying customer with Amazon and Netflix applications. There is not one way to see all the content together in one menu system.

Add in other Smart TV apps such as Pluto, Roku, Apple, Disney, Fubo, Paramount, Peacock, etc. and the amount of choices in content as well as individual applications, menus, decisions, is overwhelming. I believe this is because we do not have a consistent user experience by design.

13 posted on 02/11/2024 4:45:50 PM PST by HonkyTonkMan ( )
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To: Rummyfan

That’s frustrating as well. I think it’s done on purpose to generate revenue.


14 posted on 02/11/2024 4:46:48 PM PST by HonkyTonkMan ( )
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To: Rummyfan

It’s not so difficult. Just get adept and ruthless at cancelling services and restarting them for a month or so to binge watch whatever series.

A password manager helps enormously.

To me, it looks like Amazon is going to dropped now that the yearly fee I paid gets me commercials. Hulu - going by the wayside. Netflix - dropped it years ago. Apple+ - never tried it but have some money sitting around on my Apple account in case there is something I want to watch. Youtube Premium - pretty nice to watch without ads. Disney+ - signed up for a month to watch the Beatles Get Back. Sign up, use it, drop it.

And so forth.


15 posted on 02/11/2024 4:48:46 PM PST by glorgau
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To: glorgau

Also, you can watch trailers or clips on youtube or rumble to make a watch list. I’m gonna burn a few dollars watching “Friends of Eddie Coyle” which only seems to be available on Apple +


16 posted on 02/11/2024 4:52:19 PM PST by glorgau
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To: Rummyfan

DVDs are cheap at thrift store or free at library.


17 posted on 02/11/2024 4:55:24 PM PST by grumpygresh (Civil disobedience by non-compliance; jury and state nullification. )
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To: grumpygresh

Oh, I’ve got hundreds of DVDs and BluRays. But sometimes I like to browse too.


18 posted on 02/11/2024 4:57:50 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: Rummyfan

Watching TV?

What’s that?

I hearken back to the days of TV Guide.


19 posted on 02/11/2024 4:58:09 PM PST by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus…)
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To: Rummyfan

I watch Youtube videos and local weather and that is it. I never turn on a TV. My lovely wife will watch once in a while after I am asleep.


20 posted on 02/11/2024 5:03:29 PM PST by devane617 (Discipline Is Reliable, Motivation Is Fleeting..)
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