I would like to start this piece with a shoutout to the inventors of Netflix, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. Not only have they made billions of dollars, but they have also made billions of people happy from their invention. No one has time to sit down and watch TV at a scheduled time every week, so that is why we just binge watch shows for 10 hours straight whenever we feel like it instead. Thank you, Hastings and Randolph, for giving us that option.
Netflix has become part of the American way of life, and if you do not have a subscription yourself, then you most definitely know someone who does. If you are like me, you do not have your own personal account. You get your Netflix fix by mooching off of someone else’s, and honestly, it is the best $7 you will never spend each month. Do not take that for granted because one day you could get the boot.
The more I used Netflix, I began to realize there are some severe cons with the website. I also realized some of the cons are also some of the pros.
For example, Netflix is a distraction. For hours at a time, you could be off task. It is a blessing when you are trying to escape from the many pressures of life. In some ways, it is a stress reliever, but it can also be a stressor because after you close the tab, you realize that the 5-page paper you were supposed to write is only currently one page and due in an hour. Now, you are doomed, and even though you finally found out who died in your favorite show, you are going to be the next to die when you get a zero on the assignment.
Another reality about Netflix is that it is addicting. It may not be a terrible addiction, such as with drugs, but an addiction is an addiction. Side effects from a Netflix addiction include lack of sleep, decline of social life, anxiety when in-between binge watching and also binge eating. Remember, the first step of overcoming an addiction is acknowledging that you have a problem.
One of the best features of Netflix is that there are hundreds of options to choose from. You are guaranteed to find at least one movie or TV show you are interested in watching. Yet somehow, even with the large selection, whenever you want to watch a specific movie, it will not be available. I have learned that the key to Netflix is you can never know what you want to watch, that would be too easy.
So, here's to you, Netflix, for being a best friend and occasionally a worst enemy.
