Netflix or Addiction?

Netflix. It is an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media available to viewers all around the world. Netflix was established 18 years ago, and has a monthly subscription ranging from $7.99 to $11.99 with different features depending price. Today, Netflix has over 65.55 million viewers and have recently counted having 9109 programs for you to stream and watch anytime.

Netflix was not always an online streaming website with viewing available at any time. It was originally a company for renting movies that delivered movies your house. This way required a bit more effort than the simply clicking a few buttons on your computer or TV. Netflix started out as a great way to watch your favorite movies or shows every once and awhile but has become so much more than that as it has evolved.

People sit for hours, days, even weeks addicted to their favorite television show or movies. It has become an addiction for people everywhere. This addiction is called binge watching. The dictionary definition for binge watching is the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television program in rapid succession, typically by means of DVDs or digital streaming.

The art of binge watching your favorite TV Shows has consumed people’s free time everywhere. If the show is not currently live on TV, chances are that it will be on Netflix with all the seasons previously aired for you to watch.

The addiction is real and it is not good. Addiction to Netflix can cause unhealthy habits. It causes an increase of risk in major health issues as it doubles your risk of premature death.

A new study from the University of Texas at Austin has revealed that binge-watching television is linked to depression and feelings of loneliness. The university  questioned over 300 adults and the ones who were most depressed had the highest tendency to binge watch. They suggest that binge watching TV is another mechanism to hide from negative feelings rather than dealing with them just like binge-eating and binge-drinking.

It takes people no time to get hooked on a TV Series that they “have to” finish before they do anything else. A survey taken by Huffpost Entertainment showed how quickly it took viewers to get hooked on a show. The most popular was “Bates Motel” and “Breaking Bad” with only taking viewers to watch two episodes to become hooked.

There are ways to get around your Netflix addiction that are suggested, such as.Do not sit for hours and watch your show, get up, walk around, engage in activities other than watching Netflix, Try and accomplish something before you sit down to watch your next episode like going on a run or doing some laundry. Huffpost Entertainment also suggests not watching for long periods of times or eating while watching, which could lead to overeating.

Netflix has climbed its way to the top in the past five years. It is a known fact that Netflix truly has a hit on their hands and the phenomenon of Netflix will not be dying down in years to come because it just keeps getting better.