Is Netflix Becoming a Drug?

Every night I look forward to watching Netflix. Whether its watching "Gossip Girl", "Criminal Minds", or a movie, laying in bed and watching Netflix always sounds like a pleasurable way to spend my time. Sometimes I even spend too much time watching this form of entertainment; I always want to continue watching more and more. The constant supply of one episode to the next makes it almost hard to pull away from the screen. Netflix is becoming an addiction to myself and others as well.

From the moment I found myself watching four to six episodes of "Gossip Girl" every night, I knew Netflix had become a problem for me. I began trying to finish homework faster and losing sleep because of it. The next thing I knew I had finished all the seasons of "The Carrie Diaries" in a week and was halfway through Season 2 of "Criminal Minds". I would binge on episodes. I would tell myself I could stop but after one gripping episode ended I had to watch the next.

But, I'm not the only one. In the article, "Netflix is our new best friend", on fuism.com, the author says, " The option to stream, pause and skip episodes allows me to control all of the information I crave at once." Another article on the dailycal.org says, "Each episode felt like it ended with a cliffhanger. I had to watch the next one....Eventually, I found myself locked in a room with the blinds closed, my phone turned off and six empty boba containers on the floor." Netflix seems to be a big problem to a lot of people, the same article even states, "Netflix addiction — technically addictus netflixius .... — is a problem faced by many college students in today’s society. Midterms are failed. Flights are missed. Relationships are ended."

In addition to personal experiences, statistics further prove this addiction. An article called "Our National Netflix Addiction", on huffingpost.com, states, "The streaming video service now accounts for a whopping 34.2 percent of Internet traffic sent to North American homes during peak evening hours, according to a new report from Sandvine, a maker of broadband network equipment" and "Netflix added more than 2 million subscribers in the U.S. in the first three months of this year, bringing its total subscribers to 35.67 million." The chart below shows where data usage goes, and most of it is, of course, to Netflix.

However, to every addiction there is a solution. On the article, "How to break up with your Netflix addiction" by Leah Perri, on http://national.deseretnews.com/, the author lists ways to prevent Netflix abuse. Perri states that you can stop watching three-quarters of the way in, turning off the auto play feature, taking a moment to think about your responsibilities, or setting a timer for your Wi-fi signal.

Although Netflix can be a very time-consuming addiction to everyone, there is always a way to stop an addiction. Taking simple steps to manage your time better is an easy way to be able to control this addiction a.k.a "addcitus netflixius".