Tag Archives: Netflix

My Own Viewing and Streaming Habits

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In a typical week, most of my media gets consumed through the platform YouTube. This being said, roughly 15 to 20 percent of media I consume is also from Netflix. My usage of these two platforms will be carefully dissected and compared with one another, also reflecting its change in use since the COVID-19 outbreak creating a dramatic disruption in lifestyle.

First, YouTube is an appealing platform to be because of its user-generated content and the ability to access what is one of the largest varieties of subject material online. My watch history greatly reflects this accessibility, as I consume content spanning various topics. These include, but are not limited to: history, geography, linguistics, science, literature, philosophy, and a small amount of gaming as well. Most videos watched by me are educational, as I find it very interesting to learn a large variety of material, as well as watch it be debated, criticized, or thoroughly examined. Most all of this material is consumed in the late hours of the night, and I frequently notice myself watching or simply listening to a video essay until I fall asleep.

With Netflix, the type of content I consume varies greatly from what I watch on YouTube. Primarily I watch TV series on Netflix which deal in suspense, mystery, crime, or the science-fiction/fantasy genre. With this streaming service, shows as old as The Twilight Zone and as new as Mindhunter are on my list of things to watch together. I also have a habit of watching shows and film which are international in content, particularly in the German language. Both Babylon Berlin and Dark are favorites of mine, for example. I watch Netflix far less often than I do YouTube, using it only once or twice a week and only an episode or two at a time. I rarely, if at all, binge-watch content here. Usually it takes place in the late afternoon, around dinner or closer to sunset. I find that I have to be in a particular mood to watch an actual movie or TV series.

Taking both of these platforms back together, whatever platform I am viewing must indicate my purpose, or reflect what I want to get out of the viewing experience. On YouTube, I expect to learn and entertain myself simultaneously, exploring small niches or logically breaking something down. On Netflix however, all I seek is a story that will thrill me and allow my mind to work in a more problem-solving direction. Since the closure of non-essential businesses in Charleston, I have much more free time on my hands. I am not entirely sure why, but I have noticed a sharp increase in my watch time for YouTube while my Netflix viewing has remained unchanged.

My Streaming Habits

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Before COVID-19 I consumed around an average of 4 hours of media daily. I normally watch a specific show on Netflix or Hulu or I watch Youtube videos from the Youtubers that I am subscribed to. If I don’t have a lot of time to watch like when I go home in between classes for lunch then I will watch Youtube because I can watch more than just one video. Then I watch Hulu or Netflix whenever I am done with homework, home from work, and need to relax. Whatever I watch is for the purpose of entertainment and to just relax while I watch it. Since COVID-19 hit my streaming time has increased tremendously, I still watch Youtube, Netflix, and Hulu, but now I watch shows or videos as I am doing my school work which can at times be distracting. I also have more free time to watch shows because I work for the College of Charleston as a peer tutor and as part of the front desk staff at the Center for Student learning, where I normally sit and wait for students who need help but I am not allowed to watch things, but now I still work but I work online so I can watch shows while I work.

The internet is an amazing thing during this time because even though we are not allowed to physically be together, we can still be together. During this time of quarantining my best friend and I watched one of the newest Netflix originals that everyone was raving about “Love is Blind,” we were able to watch it together through a browser extension called Netflix Party. Netflix Party allows the people that are watching it to watch it at the same exact time and there is a chat feature. I have also used Zoom to talk to my classes and my friends so that we can feel like we are together even when we are not.

Throwbacks! Not Just for Thursdays but also for Quarantines!

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My media viewing habits have definitely increases since being COVID-19 hit. When I was living on campus before COVID-19 hit, the majority of my media viewing happened during the evening and more on the weekends because those were the times of the day where I had more free time. However, now that COVID-19 has hit and I am at home I have been viewing media more during the day. I’ve tried not to be online too much, but there is only so many time a person can walk around their neighborhood. I have been on Instagram and Twitter more than I normally would be during the day and I am watching Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Instant Video more than before. I have noticed that, with the exception of Tiger King on Netflix, I have been re-watching shows that I have already finished  such as Downton Abbey on Amazon Prime Instant Video, Call the Midwife, and old Disney movies on Netflix. I’ve also been re-watching old shows that I first watched when I was younger like Victorious and the good Teen Titans. I think that one possible explanation for theses trends that I’ve noticed in my viewing habits is that it takes a lot for me to start and get invested in a new movie and series, so by re-watching shows and movies I’ve already watched, I don’t expend and waste any energy, if I don’t like the series or movie, on a new series or movie. Another explanation for this trend could be that I relate these movies and TV shows to a time when I knew what was going on in terms of school and had some control. This may be a response to how for some of my classes, now that we are doing online learning, I do not know what is going on or what is going to happen in terms of a final exam for one of my classes. Since I spend much of my energy working on classwork and trying to figure out what I have due for certain classes, it is more appealing to me to watch something that I have already watched and can sort of shut my brain off when I watch it.

Killing Time or Staying Pacified?

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My media diet consists mainly of YouTube videos and Netflix shows and movies, with the occasional movie rental or purchase through a service like VUDU. I tend to do most of my viewing on my phone since it provides me with the flexibility to watch anywhere I want, whereas my laptop or the television downstairs don’t afford me the same luxury of consuming media in bed or at the dining room table during lunch. I do still prefer to use my laptop or the television downstairs for movies or longer binges of television shows.

The contents of my media diet is somewhat unchallenging and falls into two fairly distinct categories for me. I mainly watch either light-hearted comedic content or construction based/educational videos. Some examples of the kinds of light-hearted content I consume includes Community, Adventure Time, and most of my news which I get from sources like the Daily Show, The Late Show, or Last Week Tonight. I find that as important as it is to stay vigilant to the atrocities and misfortunes befalling our world, it is also important to have an uncomplicated escape from reality. Having something simple to watch or repackaging harsh news in easy-to-digest terms helps keep each day from becoming an existential battle rooted in moral confusion. For the other half of my media diet I like to watch lots of science videos and maker videos on YouTube. Some of my favorites include Kurzegesagt, Adam Savage’s Tested, Sam O’ Nella Academy (more comedy than fact), Hacksmith, Planet Earth, and Vsauce. Liking content which isn’t challenging does not mean that I don’t like to think and learn. I find filling the quieter moments of my day with the harshness of reality to be unpleasant but filling the still parts of my life with interesting facts and projects is more fulfilling. I like to learn about things that interest me, and by learning more about the world around me I feel safer and more comfortable going through each day. To that end, I highly recommend the Kurzegesagt videos on corona virus and the human immune system for anyone worried about the current state of the world. Neither video will make the problem less significant in our world, but there is something comforting about understanding a threat from an objective point of view and disincentivizing the impulse to panic.

In regard to the specifics of my media consumption, I have found a mass incline in my screen time since the quarantine. I have watched almost the entirety of Community on Netflix and all of Avatar the last Airbender through other online resources. I think the combined boredom of being stuck inside and the nagging unease surrounding the quarantine, virus, and the implications of both have left me craving uncomplicated and comforting content. It may have developed into more of a crutch since the lockdown, but with the limited number of things to do while stuck inside it is hard to tell how much of my viewing is an escape and how much is a tactic to kill time.

Elevated screen time… not so bad?

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An Instagram post from National Geographic as an example of the type of media I consume regularly.

Changes in my own media consumption do not vary significantly from those of others; certainly my use has increased. I have found myself scrolling through Instagram (see above), watching funny pet videos on Pinterest, and viewing independent short films on YouTube much more often than before the quarantine. When I wake up, take breaks from schoolwork, and before I go to sleep, I will pop on these sites for about 10 to 30 minutes. My film and TV consumption has also increased. I have finished three television seasons on Netflix and watched about five movies in the past four weeks alone. Though I maintain as regular a schedule as possible (ie. I ‘go to class’ or do classwork and research at the times I would pre-quarantine, and I maintain my regular exercise, meditation and meal routines), I still have an extra hour or two at the end of the day that I typically would not have before the pandemic. My hypothesis for this phenomenon is that the extra bits of time I used to bike and walk to class and to chat with students, professors and other friends on campus would together amount to those two hours I find free at the end of every quarantine day.

Sometimes I fill portions of those time slots with non-screen activities like playing or listening to music, writing or reading. But for the most part, I am behind a screen for a large chunk of those two hours, chatting with friends and family, on social media or watching movies and television. From these observations, I can reasonably conclude that screen time is an easy fall back for filling my free time. It is accessible, diverse in content and emotionally stimulating. Of course, one’s initial reaction to increased screen time is to scold oneself. But I have found that it’s not all that bad. I have discovered and become up to date with work by current and upcoming filmmakers. I have learned more about the second Queen Elizabeth’s life than I ever would have had I not finished two seasons of The Crown. I have even had more than one fits of belly-laughter from watching cats falling (safely) off kitchen counters on Pinterest. Yes, biking, walking and interacting with humans is certainly a preferred use of my time, but I cannot say than an extra few hours of screen time every day or so has been a complete waste of time.