Soap operas are dead! Well, they are to me. It was just before Christmas that I took the decision to stop watching all the soaps that I had enjoyed for years.
For me, the stories are too depressing. It was not enhancing my life, so I cut them out and haven’t looked back. I’ve half-heartedly given them up before, but something always drew me back. This time it is different, and I don’t think that is likely to change.
At first, it was a case of thinking I had simply reclaimed x hours a week to do other stuff. What I found I had done though was substituted tv time for youtube time.
There are so many things on youtube, from tutorials and reviews, to vlogs, music and debates.I particularly enjoy some of the vlogs that some dedicated youtubers put up. In fact, I am fairly certain that they are what technically replaced soaps in my mind, leaving me free to walk away from the fictional.
Soap operas exist to fulfill our natural curiosities by giving us all a chance to imagine and visualise the lives of others. The trouble is, soap operas have to actually be written and moulded. What could be better but instead watching actual real lives!? Youtubers are giving snapshots of their lives and experiences in a far more compelling, cheerful and real way.
That’s not to say there isn’t some sad stuff involved sometimes, but the difference is they are not there to purely shoehorn death, misery, murder and scandal into our every day lives like soap operas are.
Some of the youtubers I enjoy watching include itsjudyslife, the SacconeJolys, Sprinkle of Glitter, Zoella and Jamie Oliver’s Foodtube.
Recently I was also introduced to London Real TV which hosts interesting interviews weekly with a diverse range of people who talk about their lives, businesses and experiences, all of which are things that interest me.
Youtube is open 24/7. I don’t have to worry about tuning in at a specific time, although I often do, because I want to; not because I will miss out if I don’t. I can subscribe to all the characters and shows that interest me most, and their content is sent straight to my homefeed to watch at a time that is convenient for me.
So this is how youtube killed the soap opera for me!
Poem In Memory Of Soap Operas
No more Weatherfield cobbles.
No trips across Albert Square.
Of the goings-on in Emmerdale
I’m completely unaware.
Soaps have lost their magic
And for me, have had their day.
For now, I’m into youtube;
Online content is here to stay.
I will not miss the misery,
The murders and despair.
I will not miss the angst
Of the unlikeliest affairs.
No more avoiding spoilers
(Which is harder than you might expect)
And no more hours watching
When I know what happens next.
That said, there have been good times,
Inducing empathy and laughter
But let’s face it, no soap characters
Are designed to live happily ever after.
So, farewell land of fiction.
Farewell soaps! Goodbye!
I’m at that crossroads in my life
And you’re with the TV spirits in the sky!
Poem In Memory Of Soap Operas is written by Ms Moem
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