‘I can’t afford what I used to’: how the cost of living has changed viewing habits
The UK inflation rate hit a 40-year high of 9.4% this week and economists warned of a potential increase to 12% by October 2022. With the average UK food bill rising by £454 a year, the cost of living crisis has led to many people finding ways to cut back on expenses.
One area includes streaming services. Netflix is continuing to see subscriber numbers fall, with one million subscribers lost in the second quarter of 2022.
We spoke to four people about how the rising cost of living has affected their viewing habits.
Kate, a retired 71-year-old living in Bristol, says she is on a subscription service cancelling spree. “I cancelled Netflix today and will be doing Prime later,” she says.
“It was that crazy thing where you think, I haven’t watched it for ages, what am I paying for? I had a note in my calendar to cancel it recently and then forgot to.”
Kate says she decided to ditch the streaming services partly due to the cost. “I’ve been trying to cut down on weekly spending – it’s not a lot but when you start adding up the odd 10 quid, they do add up. There’s no point if you’re not making any use of the service.”
She adds that she could see herself going back to Netflix in the autumn, “if they bring some interesting shows”, but has mostly been watching series on BBC iPlayer and ITV. “They’ve got some damn good shows on at the moment,” she says.
Jess, 30, from Bury St Edmunds, lives with disabilities that mean she is unable to work. “Because I can sometimes struggle to get out of the house, I enjoy making my home a cosy and fun space,” she says. “But I’ve had to cut back on the things that previously weren’t luxuries but are now – streaming services being one of them.”
Jess has seen her monthly bills increase – “and that’s during
Read more on theguardian.com
