Cutting the Cord

Cutting the Cord is the cancellation of cable television by families in favor of wireless methods of receiving programming such as…

Internet Protocol television - Television programming streamed over the internet

Digital terrestrial television - Television transmitted using radio frequencies

Satellite Television - Television received through satellite, typically a paid subscription as well, though cord-cutting often refers to free-to-air satellite television

Families are doing this for various reasons, with modern pricing and convenience being the most prominent reasons. 

Pricing

The cost of cable television is not on the rise, but it is being rapidly outpaced by streaming services. Originally, there were few streaming services with cheap pricing. It wasn't difficult for families to add an additional fee to their cable television bill, but as time went on streaming services evolved. More and more services emerged and their pricing increased. All of a sudden, if families wanted to get access to all content, families were paying just as much for their streaming services as they were for cable, and doubling a cable bill just wasn't viable for many families. If a family were to have the most premium subscriptions to all the primary streaming services, the monthly fee would amount to $113 per month. The average cable television plan is $217 per month. Cable television is just not viable, more money for less content and more ads.

Convenience

The convenience of being able to watch anything you want at any time is impossible to understate. It is extremely difficult to name something cable television does better than streaming services. Originally, there was an argument to be made about the news, but now many streaming services have live television features, so the only thing cable does better is local news. Streaming services also have options to completely eliminate ads. If I learned anything in the time I was growing up it is that commercial breaks midway through an episode of the History Channel are the bane of fathers everywhere. There is no amount that a father wouldn't pay to watch more conspiracy theories.

Rich vs Poor

One of what I believe is the most significant effects of streaming services is the large gaps being driven between people of different financial standings. Simply put, the more poor you are the worse content you will be receiving. You won't have nearly the same catalog of content as wealthier people and you will be viewing a significantly higher volume of ads. We are now in an age where being rich means you get better entertainment, and that is a dangerous place to be in. Our entertainment is supposed to be a big bridge to unite classes, but now enjoying content is getting tied directly to class.

Me and the Cord

My family has cut the cord long ago. We never had cable, but we paid for a satellite television plan which is essentially the same thing. Once my mother finally did the math she realized we were pretty much paying a second TV bill on top of our TV bill. The only hurdle we had to surmount was the lack of local television and, most damning, teaching my father to use a new medium of technology and entertainment. This is how I firsthand witnessed the age separation that cutting the cord can present, but I also found that it wasn't nearly the impossible dealbreaker that I thought it would be.

Privacy and Lack Thereof

Personally, I do not engage with social media. I don't have Snapchat, Instagram, or even Facebook. This gives me the slightest leg up in the privacy war, but I am still losing horrifically. I have a Google account, meaning it's game over for me. Of course, the first video presented me with no new information. From a young age, my whole generation has been taught that we have a digital footprint that everyone can see. However, as a historian, I appreciate the analogies present by relating the technology conversation to ancient Greece, proving once again that whatever you think, someone in ancient Greece thought it first. 

I also live in a very small town, technically to be considered a village due to its small population. The neighboring town where we go to grocery shop is somewhat larger, but still small and poor. While I do engage with larger cities that I am sure are harvesting my information and location for their gain, my small, poor town gives me a form of immunity to this harvesting. I know it's only a matter of time before the technology reaches even my small town, but for now, I am relatively safe.

Luckily, I use an iPhone, giving me protection from government surveillance. It is extremely jarring to hear about how tap-friendly our whole lives have been since the beginning. I agree with the speaker in his opinion that it is better and safer to design a protected program than one built for surveillance. This video feels like a rare thing in this class, technology furthering our privacy. So for maybe the first time in this course, I would like to say thank you to massive corporations for protecting my privacy. 

I encourage everyone to watch other TED videos on privacy. The more you see, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more scared you should be, but it's far more important to be afraid and informed than to live in blissful ignorance.

https://www.ted.com/search?q=privacy