The dreaded cliffhanger: the pivotal moment in the best show ever, and then it ends just before the dramatic conclusion. Man, now it will be an entire week before anyone knows how it ends. Oh wait! Nevermind, Netflix already has the next 4 seasons.

In our culture today, there is no more waiting an entire week to see the next episode of the latest television series. Everything is instant, literally with just the click of a button one person can watch an entire season of a show in a single day. 

Now, I’m going to be honest: I am completely guilty of binge-watching a show in a day (hello Stranger Things), and I often don’t realize how crazy it is to have the ability to even do that.

Not too long ago, Netflix was simply a movie rental company, where people could get movies delivered to their house by mail.

Today, however, Netflix is the world’s largest streaming service, allowing hundreds of millions of people to watch thousands of shows and movies whenever they please. 

Some other popular streaming services are Hulu, Prime Video, and Disney+, all of which provide millions of people with thousands of shows and movies to watch. 

Unfortunately, with this rise of such streaming services, shows that are only on cable television are rapidly losing popularity.

  Now don’t get me wrong, my mom and I still look forward to The Bachelorette every Monday (or Tuesday) night, but many other shows on cable are on the decline.

Especially with COVID-19, many television shows around the world have had to cancel or postpone filming, causing even more people to switch from cable to a streaming service, where many shows are readily available to watch. 

What does this mean for the future? I’m not really sure. However, what I do know is that millions of people have already made the decision to cut off cable, and I believe millions more will soon do the same.