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Whining about the “death of pop culture “ as if it’s something of value. The promotion of vacuous celebrities instead of those that contribute something meaningful to society is half of societies current problems.
What this is really about is the vested interests that have influenced public viewpoints for decades are panicking as they loose influence to others.
Comments here already extremely cynical, who I assume are younger and have already not used live TV much growing up. The sentiment does actually have a bit of a point though, as the experience of talking about a popular show the night after it aired is really something that is its own experience.
With streaming, and more specifically binge shows that release their entire season at once, that experience is lost. Yeah, live TV was only the way it was because of technical limitations and therefore the experience was one born out of necessity rather than choice, but it was still a unique experience to, as the article says, know that you are watching the same thing at the same time with possibly millions of others. Hell, stupid things like watching the first episode of ALF when I was in elementary school, then the next day literally every kid was talking about it at recess. I had countless experiences like that in my life, and it actually does sadden me a bit that it has happened less and less as streaming and on-demand content has become the norm.
My daughters have grown up in a YouTube and streaming world, and their tastes are so different than a lot of their friends, and the amount of varied content out there makes it so there is no longer that shared experience and for lack of a better word, bond, with their peers that used to exist. The bond nowadays I guess is more the apps you use instead of the content.
All that being said, the convenience of streaming is great and I don't know if I'd give it up for only the experience of live tv, but the fact that I can't say that for sure says something.
Pop culture is not dying, it's just becoming ever more fragmented. Personally, I think its mostly a good thing, although there are benefits in having shared experiences.
When I was a child, tv was the main source for daily news and entertainment. News were okay but 95% of the programmes on the telly were just crap. Sure, people were watching that crap, but it was still crap to me and many others. The ability to stream whatever whenever at least allows for filtering and picking.
It does not limit discussion. For example Better Call Saul had very interesting discussions based on each weeks episodes. And they could be discussed face to face with friends too.
I would like to see more shows release on a (weekly?) schedule again - it means that people like me who don't watch much TV have a chance to keep up. I can't/won't binge the same thing over and over, so I end up talking to "binge culture" people when their memory of an episode is so fuzzy as to make the conversation different.