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The Daily Wildcat

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The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

    Netflix is ruining my life

    I often ask why my GPA isn’t higher and why I don’t have a boyfriend, but then I remember: It’s because I have Netflix. Duh.

    With the new release of all six seasons of “Criminal Minds,” I can actually binge-watch Netflix at all free moments I have in the day. I keep the tab open on my browser just in case I have five or 10 minutes. Needless to say, I have a serious problem.

    We college students comprise the group most susceptible to binge-watching TV shows and movies on Netflix. This is because we have more flexible schedules than adults — who may have jobs or families — or younger kids that have school all day. If someone was dedicated enough, they could drop out of school and major in Netflix (perhaps a more modern definition of the American dream).

    It might be ruining my prospective dating pool or tanking my GPA, because I simply must know if the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit will catch the serial killer, but this company is entertainment’s future.

    Netflix is used in 25 percent of American homes. With our society’s growing urge for immediate gratification, Netflix will drop an entire season of a show in one day. Take “Arrested Development,” for example. It was off of television for almost a decade, but due to its popularity on the website, Netflix created a new season and released it all in one day. Other very popular shows, like “Orange is the New Black” and “House of Cards,” are created by Netflix and exclusively streamed on it. Its shows and movies revolve around our lives, instead of our lives revolving around recording or saving shows and movies on cable.

    Netflix is also easier on our wallets. Cable bills have gone up even higher since 2002 because of the 50 percent decline in TV viewership. People on the lower-income range, especially in the under-30 demographic, have essentially cut cable out of their lives entirely to rely solely on the Internet. Netflix is $9 per month. Cox’s “TV Economy” package is $24.99, and that only lasts for the first three months of the contract.

    Most importantly, Netflix offers me something that regular cable cannot: a large selection of documentaries and independent films and TV shows, all packaged in the way that I want to watch them — interruption-free, for four straight hours.

    So tonight, when you’re binge-watching “Gossip Girl” or “American Horror Story,” you don’t have to feel too bad about yourself. Netflix is a part of our media and entertainment future, and it’s not burning a hole in the bank, either.

    And the best part? Rumor has it that there is computer software being created that could detect when a Netflix viewer has fallen asleep at their laptop and immediately pause the show. I know. Try not to get too excited.

    —Trey Ross is a journalism sophomore. Follow her @_patriciaross

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