I've seen every episode of How I Met Your Mother four times. I've seen every episode of Parks and Recreation three times. I've watched American Beauty and The Big Short so many times that I could probably quote them in their entirety.
And I saw that as a problem, so I did something about it.
Every year for Lent ('cause I'm Catholic, deal with it) I would give up some type of food or drink or social media, but this year I realized that what was really harming my life was constant exposure to TV and movies, for which Netflix was a convenient enabler. Since I don't have cable or any other means of TV/movie watching, giving up Netflix means giving up all TV and movies.
When I first started my Netflix detox, I constantly needed to be entertained by something, so most of my time was spent reading. I read 400 pages in the first three days, finishing one Vonnegut novel and completing a whole new one (If you haven't read Galapagos, I insist you start now). But I quickly realized that I couldn't keep up with reading so much because, let's face it, reading takes a lot of effort.
So I tried a variety of things, from coloring to driving around to talking to people (gross), and I found that I was never bored, even when I thought I had nothing to do. I even did my homework early, which is insanely uncharacteristic of me.
I learned so much over the past 50 days that I think all people should know.
Netflix stifles creativity.
It's terrifying, really. When I stopped watching so much TV, I stopped having writer's block. I constantly had something new to say, and this extended from journaling to essay writing to songwriting. This may not work for everyone, but taking time off from screens brought my imagination back.
Netflix affects your subconscious.
This point coincides with the last. About a week into my no-Netflix life, I found that I could once again remember my dreams, and it wasn't until I remembered one that I realized what I'd been lacking. Dreams are hilarious and interesting and telling, and I'm glad I have them back.
My memory as a whole has improved a lot too. I can remember assignments and details of news stories far better than I could before.
Netflix replaces ambition.
It wasn't until giving it up that I saw a reason to actually try hard for classes and my future. I would always put things off for the sake of finishing an episode, but that's over now.
Netflix and phone use are intertwined.
Once Netflix was gone, I found that I would get annoyed at how much I looked at my phone throughout the day. Screens eat up your time and your soul, and they team up to ruin lives.
Giving up Netflix makes me want to never watch anything ever again.
I know that that's impractical, but it's true. I'm angry that so many people waste their lives staring at screens, and I'm angry that I was one of them.
So please, don't waste your life. Look up every once in a while and try to create something. You could quite possibly change the world for the better, which would be pretty rad.
And for those of you wondering, the first thing I watched when my 50 days were up was the trailer for the new "It" movie. It was egh.
