Why We Ditched Cable
I grew up with cable and I could not imagine life without it. Like the internet, it was created and evolved throughout my childhood. My grandmother had it. That was when I discovered Nickelodeon and the awesomeness it used to be (oh the memories). My parents finally decided to get satellite. It was called Primestar and later it would become DirectTV. To us, it was the best thing we could wish for. There were endless possibilities for us to watch whatever we wanted. My parents tried to put a lock on the more mature shows (and later, anything PG or above) but my brother could figure out the code within a matter of hours.
Nonetheless my husband and I were spending over $100 on a cable and internet bundle we could no longer afford through Comcast. Depression and ADHD were making me watch it all day and not get anything done. It was too easy to sit and flip through 150 channels from dawn until bedtime just staring at the screen. Something was always on that I could stand to watch. Yet most of the shows we enjoyed were also online. It is harder to binge watch shows on the internet because it takes more effort to switch videos. We made the decision to get rid of cable.
Our provider gave us a hard time about it, even trying to sell us a phone line as well. We stood our ground and brought back the cable box to the Comcast center, leaving us with just the internet. Once the cable was disconnected, we had to get used to not watching television but the transition was nowhere near as hard as I thought it would be. The only thing I ever missed was football season. I have to listen to it on the radio or go out somewhere that has the game on the television screens. Yet it was worth it just for the spike in productivity. I saw myself getting more done around the house over time. I read and exercised more than I ever had since we were married. We saved money that could go toward paying off student loans and savings. It was like we lived in another country where television was an occasional luxury and families planned to watch certain television shows.
My friends allow me to use their Hulu Plus and Netflix accounts. My parents and my in-laws keep forgetting that we do not have television and ask us if we watch certain shows.. We could buy a digital converter but there is not much on television which is worth the risk of getting addicted again. When we go over to my parents' house, the television is always on. I grew up like that yet the habit seems to be from another world. I do find myself watching shows I do not get to see when at my in-laws' house, like COPS. That is a show I cannot find much of online since Spike likes to lock their episodes. Honestly, that show has been around since the 80s. Someone could at least allow the public to watch the episodes from back then!
