The end of the box TV: how flat screens rewired Cameroonian living rooms 📺🇨🇲

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It sat in the living room like a piece of family furniture. Heavy, bulky, sometimes draped with an embroidered cloth, the cathode-ray tube TV, known locally as the « box TV, » shaped how several generations of Cameroonians spent their evenings. Today it has all but vanished from homes, replaced by flat screens that are slimmer, bigger, and connected. Behind that shift sits a story about nostalgia, changing social habits, and a new way of consuming media.

When the living room revolved around the TV 🛋️

There was a time when buying a television was a genuine milestone. In many Cameroonian households, getting a TV set was a mark of upward mobility. Neighbors were invited over to watch the Indomitable Lions play, catch a CRTV drama, or follow the evening news. The living room became a gathering place, with the box TV at its center — set on a wooden stand, sometimes dressed up with lace or artificial flowers. Its sheer bulk made it feel like part of the furniture itself.

« My father always said you don’t touch the television. It was the most precious thing in the house after the fridge. Watching TV was a whole event, and honestly those were some of my best memories, because that technology is what brought us together, » recalls Jean-Paul, still nostalgic for those evenings.

Sitting behind her call-box stand in a Douala neighborhood, Mireille smiles as she thinks back to her childhood.

« When the fuel ran out halfway through a film, everyone would sigh at the same time. We’d all pitch in to buy more so we could find out how the movie ended. Now everyone’s on their own phone in their own corner, and we’ve lost some of that closeness, » says the woman in her forties.

Built like a tank🔧

Box TVs had their flaws. They were heavy, bulky, and drew far more power than today’s sets. Picture quality was nowhere close to what modern screens deliver. But they earned a reputation that still comes up in conversation: they lasted.

Plenty of families kept the same TV running for fifteen or twenty years. Repair technicians knew these machines inside out, and a breakdown was usually fixed by swapping a few components.

« These days, a flat screen breaks and you’re told you might as well buy a new one. The old TVs were nearly indestructible. Some are still working today, » says Emmanuel, an electronics repair technician.

The flat screen takeover 🚀

Between 2004 and 2008, plasma, LCD, and eventually LED screens started winning households over. Slimmer, sleeker, and offering sharper picture quality, they quickly became a symbol of modern living. The television stopped being just an appliance and became a decor statement.

Manufacturers kept pushing the innovation forward. Screens got bigger. High definition became the norm. Then came smart TVs, with direct access to the internet, YouTube, Netflix, and streaming platforms. For a lot of young households, a flat screen became a top purchase priority.

« When I started working, my first big purchase was a smart TV. Now I barely watch regular channels — I’m on YouTube or streaming platforms instead, » says Vanessa, an executive based in Douala.

Viewing habits, rewritten 🎬

With the box TV, watching television was a shared, collective moment. The whole family followed the same program at the same time. That habit is fading. Flat screens open up far more options — plugging in a game console, a smartphone, or a laptop — and streaming platforms put thousands of titles on demand. In many homes, everyone now watches what they want, whenever they want.

« My kids watch cartoons on YouTube while I catch a match on another app. It used to mean negotiating over the remote. Now everyone has their own screen, no one’s imposing on anyone, » explains Roger, a father.

That shift reflects a broader change in how people live. Television still brings people together — just less often than it used to.

The old set refuses to disappear 🕰️

Despite the rise of flat screens, the box TV hasn’t fully disappeared. In several neighborhoods, it’s still running in homes, shops, or repair workshops. For lower-income families, replacing a set that still works isn’t a priority. Others simply hold onto it out of nostalgia.

« I still have the one my parents bought when I was a kid. It still works. I don’t watch it anymore, but I refuse to throw it out. It’s a memento, since my parents aren’t with us anymore, » says Solange.

On social media, posts featuring these old TV sets regularly rack up thousands of reactions. For many, they’ve become a symbol of a simpler time, one where togetherness wasn’t just something people talked about in passing.

A nostalgia that goes beyond technology ❤️

The slow disappearance of the box TV isn’t just a story about gadgets — it’s a story about families. There was a time when you had to wait for a set hour to catch a show. Kids sat on the floor, parents controlled the remote, and neighbors would wander in unannounced to watch a big match. Today, content is available everywhere, on every screen. The options are endless, but the shared moments feel harder to come by.

Even so, plenty of people still look at these old TVs with real emotion — a reminder of a time when no one was choosing between hundreds of platforms, but everyone was sharing the same screen, the same show, and often the same feelings.

In the end, it’s not just the televisions that have changed. It’s the way we live together. Screens have gotten bigger, smarter, more connected — but along the way, some of what made those old evenings special has quietly shrunk too: a family gathered around a single story, no notifications, no distractions, simply happy to be together.

We want to hear from you !
Do you still have a box TV at home, or have you already made the switch to flat screens? What’s your favorite memory from watching that old television ?