This is an opinion piece!
It has been 6 years since I cancelled my cable and satellite services, and I have no regrets. I still feel the positives outweigh the negatives, but there are some consequences socially that come with the territory.
The Positives:
But this all comes with some disadvantages
The Negatives:
Overall, cutting the cord should not be taken lightly. I doubt that many who have done it will be going back to their old ways, but there are long term effects of cutting the cord. There are still hundreds of times more people who have NOT cut the cord that you have to interact with every day. On the other hand, many of those people will become intrigued with the idea once they have discovered you are a cord cutter. That has been my experience mostly.
Recommended reading for any cord cutter:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amadoudiallo/2013/10/16/how-to-cut-the-cord-cable-tv/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/cord-cutting-guide,news-17928.html
http://gigaom.com/2013/12/15/a-lifelong-cable-hoarder-cuts-the-cord-and-its-a-relief-kinda/
Thoughts?
It has been 6 years since I cancelled my cable and satellite services, and I have no regrets. I still feel the positives outweigh the negatives, but there are some consequences socially that come with the territory.
The Positives:
- You save lots of money. If your monthly cable bill is $125/mo, then you save $1500.00/year. More, if you count the lease of the cable box.
- You are no longer bombarded with commercial advertising shoved at you every 10 minutes (or less). Because of this, your mind does not fill with jingles, animated characters selling products or catch phrases. You are not assaulted with video of junk food and hair products and dishonest ads for other products and services.
- You no longer sit and absorb programming from the outside, you are put in the position of gathering and investigating the information and news that more pertains to you.
- Your stress levels lower, and the time and peace of mind made available to you is used in a more positive way.
But this all comes with some disadvantages
The Negatives:
- You lose touch with the (still watching) masses. Much of what they talk about and do will have to do with what they have seen on their cable TV shows and/or the advertising that comes with it.
- TV personalities and the details of mass-media awards shows become meaningless, because you might never have heard of the people getting the awards, or might not have watched the show that they are on.
- You can no longer participate in certain discussions like whatever the Kardashians are doing or who is dating who or what some broadcaster had to say about a given subject. This can make for some awkward conversations sometimes.
- You may be seen as "weird" by those who still are fully immersed.
Overall, cutting the cord should not be taken lightly. I doubt that many who have done it will be going back to their old ways, but there are long term effects of cutting the cord. There are still hundreds of times more people who have NOT cut the cord that you have to interact with every day. On the other hand, many of those people will become intrigued with the idea once they have discovered you are a cord cutter. That has been my experience mostly.
Recommended reading for any cord cutter:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amadoudiallo/2013/10/16/how-to-cut-the-cord-cable-tv/
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/cord-cutting-guide,news-17928.html
http://gigaom.com/2013/12/15/a-lifelong-cable-hoarder-cuts-the-cord-and-its-a-relief-kinda/
Thoughts?