Before the Internet existed, people were forced to watch their favorite shows when they aired on television. If they missed their show, they would have to find out when the episode had a rerun and wait until then. Before the Internet, if you wanted to see a movie that was currently in theaters, there was really no other way of seeing it. However, the Internet has changed the way many people watch television and movies.
The web has given us access to streaming and torrenting. Streaming is probably the easiest way to watch television and movies. Television networks and movie studios have embraced streaming; an example of this would be HBO GO that allows you to stream any episode of an HBO show about 20 minutes after it starts airing on television. There is also Netflix, which has a long list of shows and movies on it. Television networks also put new episodes of their shows on their websites for streaming.
Nicole Haines, a senior, said, "I prefer watching shows online. There is less commercials and I'm usually out with friends when they're on TV."
Netflix is also starting to acquire its own shows and movies that you can only watch by streaming off Netflix.
Max Garstak said, "I mainly just stream all of the media I want."
Another way in which television viewing has changed is embodied in the show "Arrested Development." "Arrested Development" was a critically acclaimed comedy that was cancelled in 2006 for its lack of viewers, but so many people watched the show on Netflix and Hulu that Netflix decided to buy the rights to the show this past year and give it another season.
There are also many websites that allow you to stream new episodes of shows and movies that just came out in theaters. Movie studios are starting to suspect that this is starting to greatly affect movie ticket sales. Streaming movies for free is becoming very popular because the price of movie tickets increases every year.
Torrenting is another way to watch shows and movies. Torrenting became popular because people were able to download movies and entire seasons of shows in high definition. You can find almost any show, movie or music on torrent sites.
Chris Moy, a junior, said, "I almost never watch TV anymore, streaming and torrenting is a lot more convenient."
Torrenting, however, is starting to die out. Many torrent websites are starting to get shut down by law enforcement, but new ones pop up every day so it will be a long time before torrenting is eliminated completely.
Watching movies and shows online is becoming more and more popular every year. People think this can lead to the cancelation of newer shows because no one is watching them when they air on TV, making the viewer count low. Viewing shows and movies online is mostly likely going to become more popular as time goes on, so television networks and movie studios are going to need find a way to work with this new change.
mseyler@ramapo.edu
