TV makes no sense anymore, but neither do we

Just as Bradley students have begun trading therapy sessions for cozy games, our generation has changed the way we consume entertainment.

As classes intensify and finals approach, the only thing keeping us sane suddenly becomes a screen. This time, though, we’re not turning to video games, but to a different form of digital comfort.

It’s television – except hardly anyone on campus is watching TV the “normal” way anymore.

Streaming services used to feel like a blessing. Everything you wanted, whenever you wanted. Perfect.

Now they feel like grocery shopping during inflation.

Netflix cracks down on password sharing. Disney+ bumps its prices again. Hulu adds another tier of payment. Suddenly, watching a show feels like a financial nightmare. For college students, it’s becoming less about choosing what to watch and more about what we can afford.

So we adapt.

Some students binge entire seasons in one night and wake up emotionally destroyed and behind on three assignments. Some haven’t opened a real streaming app in months but have watched every episode of “Family Guy” or “South Park” through TikTok.

Then, there are password parasites – the ones living off logins from cousins, exes or people they haven’t spoken to since high school.

And of course, there are the patient ones who actually do pay but refuse to start a show until the full season of “Peacemaker” drops – only because they refuse to pay for separate HBO Max subscriptions.

Streaming isn’t dead. It’s just harder to maintain.

If you scroll for ten minutes on TikTok, you’ll understand exactly why. There’s not a day where I don’t get sucked into a random old episode of “Chicago P.D.”

TikTok has turned full television shows into quick entertainment. Episodes become three-minute recaps, or are chopped into “parts.” Most of us are guilty of watching at least a few.

People discover their favorite series through edits long before they ever hit “play.” Some practically consume entire seasons through clips without even opening the related streaming app.

And weirdly, no one seems bothered.

If the algorithm gives us the romance, villain and finale, then that’s enough to stay culturally relevant. That still counts, right?

With prices rising and attention spans shrinking, Gen Z developed a new way of watching TV – for better or worse. It’s a way that accommodates packed schedules and empty bank accounts. Entertainment now lives in the “in-between moments”: a lunch break between your classes, a midnight binge or a commentary video that explains the plot better than the actual show.

The conversations aren’t just about what shows people watch – they’re about the reactions.

Dramas become TikTok breaks. Cozy sitcoms turn into brain fuel. Reality dating shows get reposted, dissected and media-fied before the finale even airs. Yes, “Love Island,” I’m talking about you.

So what’s everyone on campus watching right now? Honestly, everything. Just not on the platform it was released on, or in the right order.

But with streaming platform prices climbing, this might be the only version of media consumption that actually works.

Whether it’s a full episode, a half-watched season or a really good TikTok edit, we’re all watching something.

Even if it’s technically not the show.