When was the last time you religiously followed a series on television? And when I say religiously, I mean that you get in front of the boob tube at least five minutes before the show starts. And if you cannot watch it, then you set your VHS recorder up so it would turn on and record the show while you are away. That is, assuming that you still have one of those old VHS recorders around.

The older people, probably those belonging to what the media fondly called the Generation X and the Generation Y, would still be exhibiting that kind of TV-viewing behavior. But that is definitely not the same for today’s young people. The teenagers and the “tweeners” of today would rather spend time messing with their Facebook, MySpace or Friendster accounts, downloading music and watching videos on YouTube and other video websites. Oh, of course, there are still some who do spend time in front of the boob tube, but people who still watch TV religiously, in the old sense of the word, are becoming exceedingly rare.

So, is TV dying? This was the subject of Anna Lagerkvist’s article in Tech.co.uk last week. Is TV becoming a redundant medium in this age that is dominated by the Internet and its related technologies?

The conclusion that Ms. Lagerkvist came up with in her article is that television will remain a relevant part of our lives. However, TV companies must learn to adapt and change with the changing habits of TV viewers.

TV viewers, it is said in the article, will no longer be happy with just the usual linear fare that TV offers. They would want content that is interactive and available whenever they want it. While TV companies can still come up with mainstream programs that they can show on air, it is now important for them to produce niche programming that will cater to the needs and tastes of people who get their TV from the Internet.