Most individuals get separation anxiety when they are apart from close friends, family, or a significant other. I, on the other hand, find the anxiety kicking in when I haven’t binge-watched Netflix in a few days.
The longest time I have been separated from my beloved Netflix, in four years, is only a week. The week I dreaded was during the first week that I visited my grandmother and her internet was down. That mere week I had found many interesting hobbies to fill the void of my Netflix. I learned how to sew and build foundations for homes and buildings. Those random two hours of sitting and watch someone do activities that I claim to be able to do myself. Picking up those two hobbies was my desperation to entertain myself.
The desperation I felt was comparable to that of someone kicking their fix cold-turkey. Or at least that is how I felt until the local internet providers saved the day, and the city of Princeville was sane once again. The level of dependency I have for Netflix is more than just a need of a guilty pleasure. It is more so opportunities to escape into any genre and any reality; to journey and grow with the characters I tend to watch for hours on end. I along with many others on the Netflix wave, enjoy watching new shows in as few sittings as possible. A show that took seven years to be completed can be watched in a week. My point is I tend to crave the constant feed of information.
That craving causes an internal conflict. The conflict to need constant feeds of information (or entertainment) versus my a need to be independent from anything, especially technology. Having technology embedded in our everyday world has many perks, though. Things now-a-days are so much faster and sufficient. But that is where my fear begins to grow. I do not want to rely on tech more than I have to. I believe it causes laziness due to being content with the machine thinking for you.
The way my other half, Netflix, thinks for me is that it always has suggestions for me to watch. I actually prefer to look for the suggestions that Netflix has for me; I mean who would know me better than software designed to satisfy millions (all of whom I feel are complete weirdos)? The vast majority of content of Netflix is too much for me to filter on my own, so this suggestions list is much appreciated.
That appreciation comes to an end when I think that around 70% of what I have watched in the last four years is due to the suggestion list. Am I really that lazy or indecisive that I cannot properly choose a show that I am just watching to see past the time? No, I am not and I refuse to be. In my humble opinion, I should not nor should anyone for that matter, look forward to spending 20 hours a week watching Netflix.
While I do not find 20 hours a week acceptable, 10-15 hours definitely is. That amount of time does allow for steady doses to keep my anxiety down, while not allowing myself to crave Netflix as much as I need air or water. Hopefully my new found balance lasts long, as I have been urging to dive into the world of "Supernatural".
