What better way to come home after an exhausting day than to kick back, relax and watch Netflix? There is no better way; that’s it. Statistics today show people would much rather spend most of their day staying home and watching Netflix than go out, and what’s to complain about?
After all, people are saving money staying in and already paying for a monthly Netflix subscription, so why not use it to the full advantage. Netflix provides people with the latest entertainment with outstanding movies, fascinating television shows, and award-winning documentaries. There are plenty of options to keep people entertained. Convenient and simple to use, anyone can instantly watch what they want, wherever they want and on any device desired.
Netflix made its first debut in 1998 by offering people the option of renting DVDs by mail. In 2007, Netflix creators came up with an idea that would change the way subscribers would watch everything. Watch Now, which began as a way to stream a limited number of available TV shows and movies, started out small with about 1,000 TV show and movie options to choose from and a limited number of hours to watch for a $5.99 a month subscription plan. Later on, TV shows progressively took up a larger share of Netflix’s streaming library. In 2013, Netflix began producing its own content, also known as Netflix Originals, releasing an entire season in one go, changing the distribution model for cable television and opening the concept of binge watching.
Having the opportunity to binge watch an entire season of any given TV series is refreshing. When engaged in an activity that’s enjoyable, such as binge-watching, chemicals are released to the brain, continuously producing dopamine, which is a drug-like high. This chemical gives the human body a natural, internal pleasure that reinforces continued engagement in the activity.
Dr. Renee Carr, clinical psychologist, reports in an article on NBC news that the process people experience while binge-watching is the same experience that occurs when a drug or other type of addiction begins. This explains why more people continue to use Netflix rather than watching cable television. In fact, many people and families have canceled their expensive cable subscriptions and, instead, use Netflix and/or other streaming services such as Hulu or Amazon Prime exclusively.
The downside to not having a cable subscription and only using a Netflix subscription is the fact that every TV show won’t air weekly on Netflix as they do on cable television. However, millennials would rather wait an entire year for Netflix to release the new season of their favorite TV show than pay to have cable and watch new releases weekly.
The upside to having to wait for a year to watch a TV show is the opportunity to binge it all whenever and wherever instead of waiting a week between episodes. Another advantage to having a Netflix subscription is the opportunity to rewatch a favorite TV series whenever, especially some all-time favorites.
Greys Anatomy, for example, is an American favorite television series. With 15 seasons, and still going, of dramatic television, that includes 15 plus episodes provided in each season, Netflix allows viewers to be able to go back and watch the series from the beginning or to rewatch the previous season before a new season comes out.
Netflix comes with many advantages, like binge-watching a favorite series, having access to hundreds of TV shows and movies and being able to watch the shows and movies whenever and wherever, and a minimal monthly subscription fee, which is why people choose Netflix over an expensive cable subscription. An article in Forbes magazine, published in 2017, said Netflix released its fourth-quarter earnings in a letter to shareholders stating Netflix continued to expand over 117.5 million members over 190 countries, adding 24 million new memberships.
Netflix has grown so much throughout the years and will continue to grow. Unless cable networks reduce subscription fees and changes how it airs its programming, it is only a matter of time before Netflix runs the cable industry out of business.
