Hear me out. I might sound crazy, or like an old grandmother, but I think binging shows on Netflix does more harm than good. Here are four reasons why I don’t binge watch TV shows on Netflix.
- This one seems like a no brainer, but when I have regretfully binged shows on Netflix, the few times that I have, I felt like I was removed from the outside world and became a bear in hibernation. What did the sun look like? Had I brushed my teeth recently? Who’s our next president? (Nah, I don’t think I want to know that answer.) Simply put, I felt like my life was wasted and put in a vacuum for the approximately 4,422 minutes that I sat in front of my parents’ TV and nonstop watched "The Office."
- Next, I think that when we binge shows on Netflix we lose the integrity of the show. These creators and teams put so much time into making these shows dramatic and intense that keep you coming back for more. This means they want to keep you waiting and wondering what’s going to happen in the next season of "Lost" as it doesn’t come out until the fall. What happened to the good ole days when we had to wait a week to find out what happened to Olivia Benson on "Law and Order: SVU"? What about "Pretty Little Liars?" Just kidding, binge that show all you want ‘cause nothing will keep you up to date. Anyway, I think we lose the excitement of television when we plant ourselves in front of a screen for seven hours and get the instant gratification that Netflix provides. We’ve all become very impatient and Netflix is feeding that hungry monster.
- I hinted at this earlier, but whenever I sat and watched a TV beginning to end, A-Z, seasons 1-7 all at once, I had a more than a little regret. Not only was it because I missed seeing the sun and fresh air, but also because I felt like I wasn’t doing what I was put on this Earth to do. I wasn’t studying for an exam that was getting me closer to my future, I wasn’t reading my favorite novel enriching my vocabulary, I wasn’t traveling the world, I wasn’t building relationships with the people in my life. No, instead I was getting attached to fictional characters and then depressed when the show was over. It’s all very sad.
- Furthermore, I think when we binge a TV show we’re allowing ourselves to get lost in a virtual reality which distracts us from our current happenings. Instead of watching all the seasons of "Gossip Girl," twice, why don’t we focus on trying to cure cancer or rebuilding our economy? We have a real world outside of our screens and it seems as though Netflix and binging TV shows pulls us even farther away from the storm outside. We need people to be active citizens, not passively sitting on a couch.
I’ve already admitted that I did it a few times and didn’t like it, but this isn’t to tell you you’re living your life wrong. If this works for you then go for it. But for me, I have other goals in mind.
