They tell me the first few days will be the hardest. If you can get through that first week, you’ll be okay.
Try to occupy yourself with other things. Like reading. Or knitting. Or sticking your head outside for a few minutes (depending on the windchill).
Starting next week, there will be no more live sports. No more Trump talking heads. No more channel surfing... The screen will be black. Well, not really, but more on that later.
Cutting our cable isn't a New Year’s resolution, although it could be. It’s more of a money-saving exercise (yes, our promo ended), and a realization that TV is less important to us than it used to be.
There was a time when cable was somewhat vital, when it would be the first thing we turned on after work. Friends at suppertime was a regular event. Reality TV was just emerging as a hot thing – who could resist the first few seasons of Survivor and, dare I say, The Apprentice?
Starting a family and hosting a steady stream of boarders changed all that. We didn’t want to set a precedent of eating in front of the TV. Nevertheless, we enjoyed certain shows and kept the cable cords intact.
Having not grown up with cable, I initially balked at the cost when I first started my cable subscription. Fifty bucks a month seemed like a gratuitous expense when I was earning so little. But over time, I became like most everyone else, accepting the cost as I would another utility payment.
Even the poorest of the poor have cable, I reasoned. There are people who struggle to buy groceries who have the full array of TV channels. Maybe because it’s their one form of comfort, but it offers an interesting perspective on what we view as essential in life.
Now I admit, cutting the cord today is not as sacrificial as it once was. Fifteen years ago, it would mean near entertainment blackout. Back then I really would have had to do something different with my time. Not so today.
When I told my daughter we were done with cable TV, the first thing she asked was: “But you’re not cutting Netflix, are you?” At the age of 11, she can’t decipher between video streaming and “real TV,” and in the near future I’m sure there will be no difference. As my co-worker said, everything his kids need they can find on YouTube.
The one thing we can't live without is the internet. We've become as dependent on WiFi as electricity. Without it, our Amazon Echo would become useless! Not to mention our smart TV, our laptop, phones... When the internet cuts out in our home, I kid you not, it’s DEFCON 1. This is a US military alert from the Cold War era signalling Nuclear War is Imminent; in modern times, the rough equivalent is: I can’t order what I need on Amazon!
Really, we’re not giving up that much by cutting cable. We're not even saving that much on costs. We’re simply offsetting ever-growing internet and cell phone bills, not to mention online subscriptions for TV streaming, music, data storage and online news.
We're in the internet-of-things era, and it's getting expensive. Is it any wonder that Apple, Facebook and Amazon are the largest companies in the world?
With or without cable, our screens will never be black anymore.
With or without cable, we will find our digital comfort.
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