For many young millennials, video streaming has become as addicting as raw cookie dough.
Growing up, you were restrained to the TV Guide. You sat down at 3:30 p.m. to watch the same show every afternoon. When it ended, you had nothing to do but homework.
Now, you sit for hours on end letting a computer continue to play episode after episode, the clock ticking away. How did this happen?
Culture as a whole has undergone a rapid shift.
In case you’ve missed it, there is more content available to a wider audience than ever before.
You can play any song by nearly any artist on Spotify at any time. For a ride, you just have to click a button on your phone. You can send anyone money with Venmo as easy as you could send a text.
Anything we could ever wish to consume is at our fingertips.
We aren’t required to wait an entire week anymore to see the next episode of a sitcom. We don’t need years of our lives to follow seasons of “Friends.” Cliffhangers in dramas can be answered immediately.
TV is being produced and distributed differently than it has before. Critic Emily Nussbaum supports some cinematic benefits of binge watching, claiming true immersion allows you to enjoy the whole story.
However, the original intent for television shows was to create an outlet for acting in a short format. Consecutively drilling through episodes removes most of the artistic intent. The effects of the passage of time, suspense and viewer-character bonds are muted.
The addiction remains, though, and it’s strong. As stigma has slowly faded, we are able to confidently escape many responsibilities.
We’re unable to focus on a teacher for 50 minutes, but sitting through four hours of “Breaking Bad” is a cakewalk.
And perhaps that’s just it: it’s so easy. It’s easier to turn off our brains than to attempt to grow them though other activities.
Generation Y is overwhelmed with thoughts of the future, increasingly anxious about looming expectations. Perhaps we love Netflix because it doesn’t expect anything from us.
When “Are you still watching” pops up at the end of an episode on Netflix, it definitely gets me worked up. I get aggravated every time I have to expend effort to click. The next episode is always enticing — cleverly previewed in the corner of the screen — so, yes, of course I’m still watching.
Yet lately, as I feel the time I have with the people and community I love is slipping away, the little message is a chilling reminder that we all need to step away a bit. Maybe soon I’ll try to run an actual marathon.
Rachel can be reached at intrigue@ThePlainsman.com.
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