As technology expands, there are now multiple ways for a person to view their favorite television show or movie.
Streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu or HBO Go offer their viewers a monthly payment option to allow the viewers to watch shows and movies on their own personal time.
For many University of Alabama students, this option is more appealing than watching live, due to their hectic schedules and duties.
Alex Perez, a UA graduate who majored in management information systems, said he used to watch cable due to the digital video recorder services.
“Originally DVR appealed to me because, as a student, a lot of shows happen during times where I was studying or working, so when I was able to DVR them it made it a lot easier,” he said.
However, Perez said as time went on and the cable DVR bundle got more expensive, he had to get rid of it.
“I had to rationalize that as a part-time student employee it was too much money,” he said. “I then turned to streaming and it became my main source of media.”
A survey of 40 University of Alabama students from criminal justice professor Ariane Prohaska’s Social Inequality class determined that although 32 of the 40 surveyed still watch cable television, 37 out of the 40 students surveyed prefer streaming their shows versus watching cable television.
Emma Moultrie, a junior majoring in elementary education, said she uses both.
“Whenever I have the time and my favorite television show comes on, I try to sit down and watch it live on cable TV,” she said.
Although Moultrie does watch cable, she said her favorite way to view her shows and movies is streaming.
“I love to stream on various sites just because I have the ability to do so on my own time,” she said. “My favorite has to be Netflix, just because I can watch whatever I want and even have fun weekend viewing marathons.”
In the survey, 35 out of the 40 students surveyed preferred Netflix over all other ways to watch television and movies.
Haley Prescott, a junior majoring in psychology, said she considers herself a streaming connoisseur.
“I use every kind of streaming option there is – Netflix, HBO Go, Amazon Prime, Hulu, anything you can think of,” she said.
She said with her busy working schedule, it is nearly impossible for her to sit down and watch TV anymore.
“Now with streaming I am able to watch a plethora of shows and keep up with stuff I never would have before,” she said. “I definitely prefer streaming over cable any day.”
