Internet Won't Kill TV

For someone like me who never really watched TV, I probably seem like the one person who should not comment on internet helping TV.  However from personal experience, I can see how internet has aided in boosting views for TV.  I spend a lot of time online.  Between Twitter and Facebook, I am always up-to-date on certain shows.  Sometimes I have to avoid being on the internet so the result of shows won't be spoiled for me.  As Rachel Velonza said in the New York Times article, “Even though knowing ahead spoils the program, you just can’t help but see for yourself what all these people are talking about."  Often times, these moments go viral, and continue to be watched months later.  Sometimes the internet makes me want to tune in to a show.  When all of your friends are spending time talking about one topic, I can't help but to watch even if I've never bothered to watch the show before. 

If you happen to miss something, YouTube is guaranteed to have it.  For example, I continued to see people talking about Charlie Sheen on Twitter and Facebook.  I was totally confused.  A simple search in Google brought me to his in-home interview posted on YouTube.  I also missed Chris Brown's live interview on Good Morning America yesterday, but I didn't miss the opportunity to view the clip.

Therefore, I must agree with the New York Times article that the internet can be TV's friend.  "The Nielsen Company, which measures television viewership and Web traffic, noticed this month that one in seven people who were watching the Super Bowl and the Olympics opening ceremony were surfing the Web at the same time."  Most importantly, internet has helped to somewhat make TV what it used to be when families all gathered around to watch a show together.  The difference now is that the family is spread all around the world, but everyone can still converse about the same thing.  "If viewers cannot be in the same room, the next best thing is a chat room or something like it."

On the other end, there is worry about Hulu and YouTube taking away viewers from TV.  I have to disagree.  There are some things that are just better viewed on TV, and there are some people (older generations) who just won't get into using the internet.