From delivering DVDs to your mailbox to allowing users to watch shows and films anytime on multiple devices, Netflix has completely changed the television industry, which in turn, changed parts of society.
The question is, was it for the better or the worse?
Getting its revenue completely from the $8 a month subscription fee charged to viewers has made commercials unnecessary.
Having over 50 million subscribers all over the world and the amount of memberships growing steadily, Netflix is able to continue providing its customers the ability to watch uninterrupted television. With just the click of a button, people are able to sit and watch for hours.
Viewers are also given the chance to watch a complete television series with every episode being on Netflix.
As the amount of subscribers continues to increase, so does the number of TV series and movies.
With this service available to us now, many people have found themselves binge-watching, which is unhealthy for us. Researchers have looked at the reasons behind those who binge eat or drink and found that depression and loneliness are factors.
However, this makes it a possibility for those feelings to contribute to the binge-watching of television. In order to cope with problems, people will look for an escape in something else, and some have started to use Netflix.
Instead of doing something active or stimulating for the brain, binge-watching causes people to mindlessly spend hours streaming movies and shows.
Research published in the Journal of American Heart Association showed the risk of death was two times higher for participants who reported watching three or more hours of TV a day.
Netflix is the cause for the increase in people watching TV, which causes fear for public health.
With all the perks that come with having a subscription to Netflix, it’s going to continue to develop new ways to entice people.
It worries me with the generations to come because of the amount of time they’ll dedicate to binge-watching.
In a Time magazine article, it stated that children watch about 35 hours of television a week and that amount is been increasing every year.
The last thing we need is for the amount of television kids watch to increase.
I know that I personally have been unable to pull myself away from Netflix on occasions; especially since “Friends” was added to the list of popular TV shows.
It’s interesting to stop and think about how much more time I spend watching movies and TV shows because of it. To just watch one episode has become almost impossible.
This company is going to continue to thrive because of all the tactics they have to constantly make their customers viewing pleasure even better. It’s become such a phenomenon that it’s hard for people to believe when something’s not on Netflix.
While I feel it’s completely normal to have those days where you don’t want to stop watching TV, people have to learn what a healthy balance is.
