What is one of the first things I do when I get home from school? Watch Netflix. What do I do when I cannot fall asleep? That is simple. Watch Netflix. When I am bored, what do I do? Or when I am tired of doing homework? Watch Netflix.
I am an extremely busy person and always seem to be going from one thing to the next, but in some unexplainable way I am able to finish a whole season of The Walking Dead in three days (two of which were school days). Hey, I am not complaining; I am thankful for the ability to binge-watch TV shows and movies while keeping up in other areas of my life (Netflix comes first, of course).
My Netflix journey has gone through several stages, most of which I think others can relate to. When I first got Netflix, I was so excited as I did not have cable for several years because my parents did now want me to waste a lot of my time watching television (how ironic). Anyway, I started watching movies I had always wanted to see but never had the opportunity to watch. It was more of an exploration time. I felt like there were so many endless titles to watch. Then came a time where I became obsessed with different TV series. First I watched Lost nonstop, then I moved on to Prison Break. These shows were followed by Grey’s Anatomy, Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights, Psych, White Collar and several more that I will not disclose because I still have no idea to this day why I watched them. After watching all the shows and movies that were actually enjoyable, I began to experiment, watching random things. Some were surprisingly good, but most times I asked myself, “Grace, what are you doing with your life?” Lastly, when I got really desperate and could not find anything I liked, I began watching episodes of my favorite television shows and some movies over again – this was the true sign of desperation.
I was worried that I was the only one with a major obsession with Netflix and the only one that sometimes cancels plans to disappear in a sea of blankets, pillows and my television characters. Actually, according to the businesswire website, the average Netflix user watches 5 episodes and 3 movies per week. That probably adds up to at least 6.5 hours. According to the Netflix website, “Netflix is the world’s leading Internet television network with over 44 million members in 41 countries enjoying more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month.”
So, basically, 41 countries have found true love and as well as a new way to waste time.
While I am fearful of how much time I spend watching Netflix, my real fear is what will happen to my life after I watch everything.