How often do you watch Netflix? Be honest to yourself, nobody is judging you. I am also going, to be honest in this blog because I have a confession to make. I am addicted to Netflix and that is the reason why I stopped binge-watching yesterday. Okay, that is just one day, but I think I got a wake-up call last Saturday evening. That day I was watching the new Netflix series ‘All of us are dead’ and that day I watched 6 episodes (the episode are over an hour-long). But in the evening I was asking myself what I was doing because I knew I would regret it if I would waste my time by binge-watching all weekend long.
4 reasons why I stopped binge-watching
Waste of time
Every weekend I would wake up, do a few things I had to do that day and then I would go straight to Netflix to binge-watch all of the new series and watch the new Netflix movies. At the end of every weekend, I would blame myself for wasting my time. I am not sure why I did get this wake-up call but I am happy I did. Of course, realizing that you are wasting your time is one thing. You also have to stop doing it. Yesterday I did not binge-watch anything and I realized how much time I had. Suddenly I had time to do all kinds of stuff. I realized I want to do other things than binge-watching. I did not cancel my Netflix subscription, because there will be moments when I want to watch something. But I know I am not going to binge-watch everything anymore. I just watch an episode now and then, just like the old days when you had to wait for a whole week for a new episode.
It did not make me happy (anymore)
I think one reason why it felt like I was wasting my time was that it did not make me happy anymore. I started because I wanted to write reviews for my blog. The last couple of weeks, I was not even sure if I still wanted to write those reviews anymore. At least, not every week. As I said, I wanted to write reviews about all of the new Netflix releases. At first, it sounds like a lot of fun to watch all of those series and movies but eventually it became another task on my to-do list. Sometimes I even watched a whole season of a series I did not like, but I still had the feeling I had to write a review. But in my opinion, having fun is one of the most important things in life. If it doesn’t make you happy, why should you do it if you don’t have to? As I mentioned before, I did not cancel my Netflix subscription because there will be series and movies I still want to watch that will bring joy. But as soon it is not as fun as I hoped it would be, I am going to stop watching it.
Addicted
Another thing I realized is that we all know about social media addictions these days. The reason why you are addicted to your phone/ social media is that you constantly see new things and you get new notifications. That is how those platforms are making sure you come back. The same applies to Netflix and other streaming platforms. They are constantly releasing new things, so you keep watching them. Then it becomes an addiction. You can’t stop watching and you want to watch new series every week. You binge-watch all of the episodes of a new season in one day. I say it again: this is an addiction. You are not in control anymore. Netflix is controlling your life. I know detoxing from Netflix is not going to be easy. I love to watch movies and series and Netflix is constantly releasing new things. I just have to be stronger than my addiction.
I want to make memories and do fun things
The last reason why I stopped binge-watching is that I want to do fun things again. Especially, after so many lockdowns I realized that we should enjoy our lives and do things that make us happy. I really missed doing the stuff I took for granted, like going to the city to shop or to get lunch somewhere.
I want to do fun things again. I think I would regret it when I would waste my time by binge-watching so many things when I am older. I think I already regret it. I already missed a lot of great years because of my anxiety and I want to live! I want to live the best life from now on! I want to do fun things that will make me happier. I want to make memories! I want to make new friends, I want to explore everything and I just want to have a good time.
it is only the second day of my Netflix detox, so I have no idea how this will go. I know myself and every time I try to change my habits, the first few days are easy. But I think it will be a challenge upcoming week, so I guess I have to plan something fun. Maybe I should go out for a long walk or something. But I know that if I don’t like the current situation/life I am in, I have to change and become someone else. This will be the first step of my new journey to become a happier version of myself. And I hope I can also inspire you to do something else (something fun) instead of watching Netflix all day long. Life is more than that. Even when you don’t have friends, there are still so many things you can do. You can do fun things on your own. Get that cup of coffee or go shopping alone. Because you will regret it when you are older. This is your sign to start living now!
Photo by Roxanne Desgagnés on Unsplash