“I really like streaming services. It’s a great way for people to find your music.”
Kygo, Musician
Pros and Cons of Streaming Services
You think about getting a streaming service but are not sure whether this is the right way to go or not? Great!
This article is exactly for you since I will show you all the pros and cons of streaming services and Pay TV in the following chapters.
Contents
Advantages of Streaming Services
- Streaming services give you access to additional media channels
- You don’t have to watch commercials
- You can enjoy the most important sports events
- You can save money on tickets
- Watching sport or movies at home is more convenient
- Subscription television can entertain your kids
- You can always see latest movies and series
- Additional entertainment for rainy days
- Premium TV as kind of a status symbol
- You can use Pay TV for education purposes
- You can prevent your kids from seeing inappropriate content
- You can book many different plans
- Especially convenient in areas where there is nothing else to do
- You no longer have to download files unofficially
- You don’t need storage space for using streaming services
- Streaming services are easy to order
- Feeling of freedom
Streaming services give you access to additional media channels
One advantage of streaming services is that you can get access to many different TV and radio channels.
This will give you a huge variety of different movies and audio material you can choose from and you can be sure that there is something for everyone available through those streaming services.
In turn, you can use your time as efficiently as possible since you no longer have to watch things you are barely interested in at all on free TV but can rather enjoy first-class entertainment and watch your favorite shows, movies or series.
You don’t have to watch commercials
While some people like TV advertisement, many others are annoyed by it and rather want to see the content they came for other than to spend lots of time on these commercials.
Hence, while many people who don’t have access to streaming services will have to rely on free TV and waste many minutes or even hours of their lives with these commercials, you will be able to watch whole TV series or movies without any commercial interruptions.
Not only will this make your time use more efficient, but you will also not be distracted by any commercials and can rather enjoy the whole movie or binge-watch whole seasons of TV series in one session.
You can enjoy the most important sports events
Some of the most important sports events are only available with pay-TV.
Thus, you will simply have to spend some extra money to see the most renowned and interesting sports events that take place all around the world.
Consequently, without those paid channels, you will not be able to watch your favorite sports events and may even become socially isolated since your friends may talk about what happened during those events all day long and you will not be able to contribute anything interesting to the discussion.
You can save money on tickets
Even though pay TV and streaming services cost some money, you will also be able to save some money since you no longer have to go to the cinema or buy tickets for sports events but can rather watch your favorite movies or sports events on your couch.
In the long run, streaming services and pay TV can be well worth the investment, especially if you use it quite frequently and can save lots of money in this regard.
Watching sport or movies at home is more convenient
Another upside to using streaming services is that it can also be quite convenient to just sit on your couch and watch your favorite movies instead of going to the cinema since you just don’t have to dress up but can rather watch your favorite movies in the most comfortable manner.
Some people just like it to stay at home rather than to go out and if you belong to this group of people, chances are that you will really enjoy using streaming services since you will just get the best entertainment without having to leave your home anymore.
Subscription television can entertain your kids
Not only will you get great entertainment for yourself by booking those streaming services, but you will also get an additional source of entertainment for your kids.
We all know that kids can be impatient and always want to have something to do.
However, if you work from home, you will often just not have time for your children and they rather have to take care of themselves during those situations.
In such cases, streaming services can be great since your kids can watch their favorite series and you don’t have to look after them every minute but can rather focus on your work instead.
You can always see latest movies and series
Getting streaming services can also be great since you will always have access to relatively new movies or TV series.
Hence, while many other people out there have to wait for quite a long time until new episodes of their favorite series become available, you will have access to those series much sooner.
Additional entertainment for rainy days
Streaming services can also be great for rainy days when there is just nothing to do outdoors.
During such times, families often get quite bored and don’t know what to do.
Thus, watching your favorite movies together and eating some pizza can be a great way to spend those days and instead of just wasting those days of your life, you can just make the best out of it.
Premium TV as kind of a status symbol
Since you will have to pay for streaming services and premium TV channels, having those things at home can also be considered as kind of a status symbol since not many other people will have access to those things.
Consequently, you can also gain high social status in your circle of friends if you are the only one who gets one of those subscription-based streaming services and your friends will also highly appreciate it and will frequently come over to your place to watch their favorite movies together with you.
You can use Pay TV for education purposes
Pay TV and streaming services are not only a great source of entertainment, but they can also be used for educational purposes.
Quite often, you can book services where your kids get access to series where they can actually learn something about science and how the world works in general.
In turn, your kids may even be able to learn while having fun at the same time and will gradually be able to improve their knowledge in various fields.
You can prevent your kids from seeing inappropriate content
Many parents are also worried that their children may see inappropriate content from those streaming services.
However, you don’t have to worry about it that much.
Most streaming services offer you the option to limit the access for your children to certain channels you think are appropriate for your kids and prevent your kids from seeing any inappropriate content.
In turn, you can let your kids alone watching their favorite series since you know that they will not be able to watch any adult content.
You can book many different plans
Another benefit of streaming services is that you will also be able to book many different plans.
For instance, if you are not interested in science, you just don’t have to book and pay for this category.
Instead, you can often get a customized plan that fits your personal preferences.
Thus, you will only have to pay for services you really need and can exclude other packages that you would barely use at all.
Especially convenient in areas where there is nothing else to do
Booking streaming services can also make quite a lot of sense in case you live in a rather rural remote area where there is just not much else to do but to watch TV all day long.
It may sound sad, but using those streaming services would still be better than going out and do something stupid in such a situation.
You no longer have to download files unofficially
With those streaming services, there will also no longer be the need to download files unofficially on your computer.
In turn, you will no longer have to fear any negative consequences in this regard and can enjoy your favorite series and movies in much better quality at the same time without having to worry about computer viruses.
You don’t need storage space for using streaming services
Another advantage of using streaming services is that you also don’t need any storage space for using those channels.
You can just stream on-demand and movies and audio files will play immediately without having to download those media files for an extended period of time.
Not only will this save you lots of storage space on your computer, but it will also enable you to watch your favorite media channels faster.
Streaming services are easy to order
You will also be able to order streaming services conveniently over the internet.
You don’t even have to go to a shop anymore, you can just sit on your couch with your computer on your lap and order your favorite streaming package. Also payment will be quite simple.
You just insert your credit card information and will have access to those streaming services almost immediately.
Feeling of freedom
In general, having those streaming services at home also gives you a great feeling of freedom since you will be able to watch your favorite series or movie whenever you want and don’t have to rely on conventional TV channels anymore.
As you can see, getting streaming services can make quite a lot of sense.
However, it is still not all upside and we should also talk about the issues that come along with it so that you can make a profound choice whether the pros of streaming services outweigh the cons for you or not.
Disadvantages of Streaming Services
- Streaming services will cost you some money
- You may watch TV too often
- Obesity may become an issue
- You may lose contact to the real world
- Grades of your children may get worse
- Your kids may no longer play outside
- You may get the wrong feeling that you can get everything instantly
- Social isolation may become an issue
- You may become addicted
- Not all movies will become available instantly
- You may lose interest in the little things of life
- You need a fast internet connection to use streaming services
- May lead to conflicts between you and your family members
- Family life may suffer in general
Streaming services will cost you some money
One problem with streaming services is that you will have to spend some money on them.
Sure, it will not cost you a fortune to get those paid channels.
However, you will still have to invest some bucks each month and especially if you are on a budget right now and barely have any money, you may rather rely on free TV channels instead of getting those paid streaming services instead.
You may watch TV too often
Since you will have access to almost every series or movie immediately, you may also just sit in front of the TV or your computer screen far too often.
In fact, binge-watching can be quite harmful to your body and your brain and you should therefore make sure that you don’t use those channels in an excessive manner before you decide to get those streaming services.
Obesity may become an issue
Since you will often use those streaming services and will no longer exercise that often, chances are that your fitness level will drop and that you may suffer from overweight or obesity sooner or later.
In turn, you may also be at higher risk of suffering from serious physical health issues and you should therefore make sure that you only use those streaming services in a moderate fashion to avoid any issues in this regard.
You may lose contact to the real world
Another downside to getting streaming services is that you may also lose contact to the real world.
If you just sit in front of your computer screen or your TV all day long, you may no longer want to meet up with your favorite people.
In turn, you may lose your friends in the long run and may spend too much time in the virtual world and this can become quite problematic for your psyche and you may also feel quite lonely sooner or later.
Grades of your children may get worse
If your children use those streaming services too often and use them for entertainment rather than for educational purposes, chances are that the grades of your kids may get worse and that they will just not achieve the grades necessary for going to a good college.
In turn, also future job prospects of your kids may suffer quite a lot and you should therefore make sure that your kids don’t spend an unreasonable amount of time with those streaming services.
Your kids may no longer play outside
Another disadvantage of streaming services is that your kids may no longer pay outside.
Instead, they may just be too fascinated with all the interesting stuff that will be available to them through those paid TV channels and may barely leave the house anymore.
Not only will this be quite sad since there is so much to experience outdoors, but it can also be quite unhealthy since your kids may just no longer get sufficient exercise.
You may get the wrong feeling that you can get everything instantly
Since you will have the opportunity to watch all of your favorite series and movies whenever you want, this may also give you the wrong feeling that you can get everything else on-demand as well.
Consequently, you may become quite impatient and may get quite unhappy if you have to wait for something for an extended period of time in various parts of life.
Social isolation may become an issue
Due to all the channels that will be available to you via pay TV and streaming services, you may just no longer have the motivation to leave your home.
Instead, you may just spend the majority of your time indoors and your social contacts may become less important to you over time.
In the long run, you may even lose all of your social contacts and rather spend your time alone in front of the TV.
You may become addicted
In extreme cases, you may even become addicted to those streaming services and may spend almost all of your time watching TV.
In fact, some people neglect everything else and also don’t care about hygiene anymore.
Instead, they spend every waking hour watching things via those streaming services and at this point, you can tell that these people have a serious problem for sure.
Not all movies will become available instantly
While you will have access to latest movies and series faster than people who don’t have access to those streaming services, not all series and movies will become available instantaneously.
Instead, you will often still have to wait a few weeks or months until those movies have been shown in the cinema until you can finally watch them through streaming services.
You may lose interest in the little things of life
Since your brain will always be triggered by those new exciting series and movies, you may also just lose interest in the little things in life.
However, this can be quite sad since life is all about perspective and if you are no longer happy with those little things, you may just not become happy at all since you will always see the negative things instead of seeing the positive that comes along with them.
You need a fast internet connection to use streaming services
Another disadvantage of streaming services is that you will need a fast internet connection.
While streaming services offer you access to high-quality media files, those files will be quite big and if you don’t have a fast internet connection, you will simply not be able to enjoy your favorite movies and series in decent quality.
Consequently, getting those streaming services may just not make any sense for you in case you currently live in a rural area with pretty bad internet connection.
May lead to conflicts between you and your family members
If you have a big family at home, there may also be lots of conflicts regarding who will have the privilege to choose what should be watched.
In fact, your brothers and sisters will often not share the same preferences with you and this means that you will often have disputes in this regard.
Family life may suffer in general
Due to the long time family members will spend with those streaming services and also due to the conflicts that come along with it, your family life may suffer in general.
You may also spend less time together and this may lead to a state where family bonds become weak and you will rather feel like remote friends than an actual family anymore.
Top 10 Streaming Services Pros & Cons – Summary List
| Streaming Services Pros | Streaming Services Cons |
|---|---|
| Streaming services are easy to use | You have to pay for streaming services |
| Convenient payment options | You may use them too often |
| Many different entertainment channels | Obesity may become an issue |
| You can limit access to certain content | Your kids may no longer play outside |
| Good entertainment for rainy days | Social isolation may become a problem |
| Can help you educate your kids | You may lose interest in the real world |
| Premium TV as a status symbol | You may get depressed |
| You don’t need to use storage space | Family life may suffer |
| Feeling of freedom | Conflicts regarding what movie to watch |
| You can save money on tickets | Grades of your kids may get worse |
Are Streaming Services Worth It?
Now that you know all the advantages and disadvantages of streaming services, it is on you to decide whether the pros outweigh the cons and to make a profound decision regarding this important topic that could greatly change the way you live your life in the future.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_television
https://www.britannica.com/topic/streaming-data-transmission
About the author
My name is Andreas and my mission is to educate people of all ages about our environmental problems and how everyone can make a contribution to mitigate these issues.
As I went to university and got my Master’s degree in Economics, I did plenty of research in the field of Development Economics.
After finishing university, I traveled around the world. From this time on, I wanted to make a contribution to ensure a livable future for the next generations in every part of our beautiful planet.
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