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Comment by slackpad | Hacker News Reader

My 8 year old has only experienced real-time broadcast television when staying at a hotel, where he was frustrated and perplexed that we couldn't rewind it (he has no clue where the concept of rewinding really comes from). He has always experienced media he can control on YouTube or Netflix. I can't imagine he'd ever subscribe to something like cable in the future. Maybe if TV could associate itself with Minecraft somehow they could reach this cohort, but I suspect it's a lost cause.

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I went to see the last Batman franchise film last year, which I found horribly boring. I actually had a moment where my hands reached out in the dark for the fast-forward button, which took me by surprise as to how used I am to having those controls now. I'm well into my 30s so I can only imagine how reactive it is for young kids to not have this ability.

That's the exact reason why I love the movie theater: no one has any control at all outside of walking out, so everyone pushes their ADHD to the side and commits to the movie for two hours. Once the movie is over, you might still think it was shitty and a waste of time, but at least you gave it a fair shot.

Try watching a slow movie like Gattaca at home, with a dozen devices and apps competing to take your attention away, and see how many people drift off and watch it from the corner of an eye or don't even finish it at all. Does the movie deserve that? Maybe; if only short-form content or frenetic Avengers-like action can hold people's attention from start to finish, then that's how it is. But I, for one, appreciate immensely when people commit fully to something, the way it was intended to, for better or for worse.

And that's why I love the movie theater.

I completely agree. For just a short time in your life, you can let go and trust the author with your mind. Having said that, when it comes to Batman 3 my mind was very annoyed (and would have left if it weren't for friends).

Well, movie theaters don't really force you to commit to the film; my friend and I walked out of the Tree of Life, for example.

That said, and for all the love I have for computers and even for my Nexus tablet, I fear I'll become an anti-smartphones curmudgeon soon. I already feel uncomfortable when everyone takes theirs out right after lunch, killing any possibility of a conversation.

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