Have you ever been watching Netflix and had that annoying list message pop up asking you if you are still watching? Yes, Netflix I am still binge-watching this show because I'm too lazy to actually be doing something important.
I could be doing my homework or hanging out with my friends, but no - I've officially become an Netflix addict. (Admitting it is the first step to recovery, right?) Anyways, for all my fellow Netflix addicts, I have some good news. Netflix can actually help to make you a better person. I promise, I am not lying.
According to a recent study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Netflix can actually make you a better person and there is proof.
According to an article on, Science of US, the study found that by watching high quality television drama shows on Netflix, a viewer's emotional intelligence increases. This means that by watching certain television shows with complex characters, viewers have been found to be more empathetic.
The study focused on determining whether watching dramatic shows or nonfiction shows would affect how people viewed emotions. According to the article after watching a show focus groups would be, "... shown 36 pairs of eyes and are told to judge the emotion each pair is displaying. The results showed that the people who'd watched the fictionalized shows did better on this test than those who watched the nonfiction ones." The study concluded that there are at least eight television dramas that can help you become a better person. By watching these shows or even shows like them (Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, The Vampire Diaries', American Horror Story, etc.), you can become more emotionally intelligent. These eight high-quality dramatic television shows included:
Mad Men
The West Wing
The Good Wife
Lost
Breaking Bad
The Leftovers
The Americans
Why is this good news for my fellow Netflix Addicts? Because by watching these eight shows or show like them, we are not just being lazy. Instead by feeding our addiction and binge-watching dramatic television shows, we are helping make ourselves better human beings. So the next time you feel bad about procrastinating or even just being lazy and laying in bed, remember this study and you can feel better about yourself. So who else thinks that we can celebrate this amazing new study with some quality Netflix-binging?
