Hello, my name is Amira and I am a Netflix Addict. I have had a subscription to Netflix ever since I can remember but I do remember a time before streaming online was possible. When my parents used to get a new movie from Netflix to watch by mail. But the game changed forever when Netflix started offering people the option of signing up for membership in order to stream movies and TV shows that could be viewed as many times as you’d like.
I cannot even begin to explain the challenge that I face during the school year in trying to avoid starting a new show on Netflix because I understand all too well how invested I get in the tv series offered by Netflix. I have the stamina to spend my entire day binge watching a television show. If it weren’t for all the Twitter memes that I see on a daily basis, I would have thought that I was alone in this addiction, but in fact, many people feel the same way.
I started to google around to see why streaming TV shows is the new guilty pleasure.
Netflix has come out and said that they know that usually a series’ pilot do not get the audience hooked right away, that it takes a couple of episodes, and that they also know the exact episode that gets their audiences hooked.
At the end of the day, what’s the best way to unwind? Netflix of course, or Hulu, or the plenty of online TV steaming websites. The first hook these television shows have is cliff hangers. A cliffhanger is ending an episode in suspense, TV producers often use to keep the audience coming back because. Cliffhangers releases stress, this puts of the release of melatonin, a hormone that the body releases to put the body to sleep. The stress that comes with cliffhangers also creates a fight or flight response. These factors make the body feel energized and have people ready to watch the next episode.
Netflix is growing so quickly because they know that their subscribers get hooked to these shows and Netflix takes advantage. Netflix also started to make their own shows that do very well because most of the people that watch get addicted. They have learned a mechanism to reel their audiences in. Two of the most popular television shows in 2016 are Netflix series, Stranger Things and Narcos. Along with other Netflix shows like Orange is the New Black and Fuller House, Netflix is doing very well profiting on other’s addictions. Luckily (for Netflix) this is completely ethical. Over the past five years the streaming industry including Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc., has skyrocketed off, profiting in the billions. Who knows where this industry will be in another five years.
I love your post!! I saw the word Netflix in your title and knew that I needed to read this post. I am also addicted to netflix, I have a love/ hate relationship with it though. I am always torn between homework and just one episode of netflix first. That’s because everyone knows that one episode turns into “wow I just watched a whole season…oh my gosh now two seasons”. It’s hard to just turn the T.V off anymore and that’s what is wrong with our generation. Although I do like a good binge watch day I do have to step into reality once in a while and get my school work done just like everyone else.
I know exactly what you are talking about!!!! That feeling at 2 AM when you know you have class in the morning and have to get some sleep but the urge to watch the next episode of whichever one of the many addicting shows you were watching at the time. In all honesty, binge watching shows has effected my life, possibly in a negative way. As much as I love to watch episode after episode of show after show, theres only so much time that I have in a day. When you juggle school, homework, a job, sports, and any other extracurricular activities you might do time becomes awfully valuable. You only have 16 hours a day, if you still want to get a recommended 8 hours of sleep, to get all these things in on top of taking 2 hours to binge watch a show. I’ve realized that binge watching netfilx has caused me to lose a significant amount of sleep time. Which means I probably didn’t do so well on the test I took the morning after watching the season finale of Breaking Bad and only getting 4 hours of sleep. There are a lot of negative things that come out of not getting enough sleep at night. Here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-scary-ways-sleep-deprivation-affects-teen-physical-and-mental-health_us_55a7bd07e4b04740a3df0fb3) is an article of some of the ways that not getting enough sleep as a teen can really become detrimental to your health.
I’m am also a pretty bad Netflix addict and have been for a few years now. On Sundays or days off, I sometimes find myself watching five or six episodes in a row. Therefore, I get nothing productive done! Not only do I find it hard parting with my favorite shows at night when I know I should go to sleep and rest for class, but I also use my addiction to my advantage sometimes. When I really don’t feel like writing a paper or doing any kind of assignment, I’ll tell myself I can’t watch my show until I finish it. This gives me much more motivation to get my assignment done, and then when I finish it, I reward myself with an episode or two! Maybe my idea can help you too!
I love Netflix but I haven’t found a good show I can stick with in a while and maybe thats for the better. Stranger Things was amazing and I wish the next season was out already. I wish shows I really liked like South Park, Sex and the City and KUWTK were on Netflix. If there was a way to request shows to be put on there I would so do it. Sometimes when I was watching Stranger Things or Gossip Girl, I wouldn’t even press the watch next episode button, rather I would just let it time out until it went to the next episode on its own so I didn’t feel so bad. What kind of mindset is that hahahah?! For anyone wanting to start up another show, I attached a list of the 50 best shows on Netflix here
I looked at that list and sadly enough, I have watched over half of those shows. But whenever I want my KUWTK fix http://www.dailymotion.com/us is the way to go! It has the recent episodes at HD quality and they have an app!
I think almost every college student can relate to this. The problem (or enjoyment) in watching Netflix is exactly what you mentioned, the cliffhangers. You tell yourself you’ll stop after this episode but the cliffhanger forces you to find out what happens in the next episode. Plus, after you finish an entire series, Netflix gives you “shows you may like” based on the show you just watched, so the cycle starts all over again. Netflix is a gift and a curse.
As soon as I saw the title of your post, I knew that I had to read it. I, myself, am addicted to Netflix as well. I sometimes just do not know when to stop watching and sometimes will waste the whole day away, it’s so bad! After reading your article it really interests me that the show itself is set up to get you hooked. Also, I know of a couple shows the consistently end each episode with a cliffhanger, so you’re dying to know more and click the “watch next episode” button for hours on Netflix. Now that I know that cliffhangers cause the body to go into a fight-or-flight response, it now makes sense that I sometimes stay awake until 4 am watching a Netflix show that I am addicted to. It is crazy to me that Netflix knows what gets their viewers hooked and creates shows that skyrocket their business. Here is an article I found by the Huffington Post that elaborates more on why we get so addicted to Netflix .
It is always crazy to me how easily I will get dragged into a Netflix binge. When I am about to eat I put on an episode of something and 4 hours later I am still watching the same show. So Netflix is pretty dangerous, I just wish I could enjoy it in smaller quantities.