The Things We’ve Lost in the Streaming Era
There was intangible value in the tangible
As a so-called “Xennial,” I am old enough to remember a time before everything was readily available at all times.
I knew the fear of not seeing a game or film or TV show because there was no way to see it again. I recall reading about bits from Saturday Night Live in the newspaper and wishing I could somehow see them or reading about an amazing athletic achievement and hoping that I’d somehow see it before I died.
I remember the first time my parents brought a VCR into the living room, it felt like a revolution. I can record something and then watch it again whenever I want?!
I can still see myself next to my stereo, brand-new blank cassette in the deck, with my fingers hovering over the PLAY and RECORD buttons, waiting, just waiting, for that new hot song to come on the radio so I could record it and listen to it when I wanted (as long as the DJ didn’t talk over most of it).
I remember playing tapes until the writing wore off or the terrifying sound of a tape unwinding and having to use a Bic pen to respool it because it was my only copy and if it were lost, there was a distinct possibility of never owning that song again.
