My Netflix Addiction

Yes, I was a Netflix binge-watcher once. It was the year 2014 when Netflix addiction happened to me.

Gone are the days when we had to wait for another day or week to watch the next episode of our favourite shows. Now we have streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. which provide us the luxury to watch them back to back according to our comfort or taste.

I started watching Netflix in late 2013 and the first series I picked up was American drama series Lost and I liked it. After that, I started watching a lot of similar shows and soon I fell prey to binge-watching.

I used to stay up late at night. I finished a couple of shows in a day or two even though I knew that I have much more important things to do.

Yes, I still watch some Netflix series but in a controlled manner. I don’t have patience or time to watch live tv shows. Netflix still exists in all the devices I own in my home. Even my 7-year-old daughter likes the kids’ shows. And we allow her to watch for strictly one hour daily. So we didn’t stop watching but just limited the time we spent there.

But what was the reason for this addiction?

In 2014, I was in the USA on a dependent visa without work authorization and I had no other option but to sit at home. After working for 7 years, suddenly sitting idle was stressful for me. And to cope up with this stress I started to watch Netflix. Rather than doing anything creative, I chose this way to be happy and relaxed and soon it turned into an addiction. I started binge-watching shows and found this as a stress buster.

But the truth is I am not alone in this journey. I have read many articles and news about Netflix addiction. Everyone has different stories but one thing is pretty much clear that in this era of smartphones and other devices that can connect to Netflix or similar sources, it’s hard to avoid these situations. If adults can become addicted in-spite of their busy schedules, think about kids who always want entertainment. We can stop kids, but who is going to stop us! It is not easy to be a grown-up when you’re your own boss.

There are always pros and cons of this sort of entertainment and Netflix is no exception. There is no denying that it is providing entertainment that we always wanted in the form of TV shows, documentaries, movies of all genres and also some unforgettable old shows that we miss all the time.

Entertainment is much needed but not at the stake of your creative and productive time. I totally agree that there should be a limit on screen time for everyone. Surely, we can entertain ourselves in many other ways. So, don’t tell yourself that you can’t live without Netflix.

I know we can do far better things by not parking ourselves in front of the TV or digital screens all the time.