Cord Cutting Comes With More Cords
We finally cut the cable cord. Then somehow replaced it with eight smaller cords, eight subscriptions, eight apps, and approximately eight passwords nobody remembers.
Cord cutting was supposed to simplify television. Instead of paying one cable company, streaming services promised freedom: choose what you want, watch it when you want, and pay only for the entertainment you actually use. Then Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Prime Video, Paramount+, Apple TV+, ESPN+ and the rest started multiplying across the screen. Now watching one show can feel less like entertainment and more like account management.
Modern streaming is another example of technology solving one problem and quietly replacing it with several smaller ones. AI and services like ChatGPT may help us organize an increasingly complicated digital life, but even artificial intelligence would need a spreadsheet to remember which service has which show. It’s the same connected-world logic behind WiFi Slows Down Under Pressure, where adding more devices somehow makes everything less convenient. And Smart Devices Keep Creating New Problems proves that streaming services aren’t the only technology demanding another login, update, or subscription.
We wanted freedom from cable.
Apparently freedom has a monthly fee.
Explore more Chad Geepeety™ cartoons about streaming, Wi-Fi, AI, smart technology, and the everyday digital problems that somehow keep getting funnier.
