I Want to Spend Less Time Watching Netflix, Essay Example

Describe

In recent times I have come to love and be hooked to Netflix. I have always found Netflix to have my favorite shows/programs, and I would not have noticed that my habit of watching Netflix has become a problem these past few days. It has been a personal favorite of mine since I always find time to watch my favorite programs here. Before the pandemic onset, I maintained my schedule and participated in fun extracurricular activities, like running or soccer. Since the pandemic, we have been forced to stay indoors, work and study most of the time from home. With this increased time at home, I reluctantly found myself hooked more and more onto Netflix, as I am a fan of genres relating to adventure, thriller, and comedy.

I realized that this acquisition of my behavior (Ch.5) affected my life. One time, when I was at home watching Netflix, my mother was cooking in the kitchen when she got an urgent call to go to my aunt’s place. I did not and forgot all about it entirely. I was too hooked up on Netflix watching the second season of “The Circle.” What caught my attention almost an hour later was the smoke coming from the kitchen. After rushing to the kitchen and getting rid of the already burnt muffins, I was worried about what my mother would say or react.

Another example I can remember was around 6 pm when I was supposed to be on my way from my aunt’s place to pick up my brother Abraham. I was watching “The Flash” on Netflix instead. My father promised to give me the keys if I stopped spending time behind the screen watching my favorite shows on Netflix. Instead of avoiding Netflix altogether, I devised an avoidance learning scheme (Ch.5), where I could reward myself by watching one episode on Netflix after revising two topics of any subject and doing quizzes to make sure I understand what I have read.

Explain

I am not a very social person. I am always keeping to myself, often identifying myself as an introvert (Ch.7) (p-variable (Basri et al. 2020). Netflix also came about as a result of peer influence (e-variable). Everyone who I knew was raving about the new episodes of season one and two of “Stranger Things.”

While a few of my friends spend their free time out in the mall, I spend mine on social media like Twitter to see trending shows on Netflix. My personality (Ch.8) (p-variable) is often calm, diligent, and I’m not particularly eager to rush into things (Allen & Madden, 2019). Having big papers to write or do homework stresses me out, and sometimes I have to schedule what time slots I can do them in. I feel as though sometimes I feel burnt out and am constantly faced with complex challenges and daily hassles (E-variable).

Predictions

Over watching Netflix can have detrimental effects on my normal life. In the next one to five years, I predict that my socializing behavior will have diminished, which will lower my self-esteem. (P-variable) If this addiction to Netflix does not stop, I fear that in the future, I will become distant from everyone, which will constitute to the General Adaptation Syndrome (Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion) (Ch 9.) which may render me to be alone and lonely. (P-variable) If I do not check on this anxiety and depression, I predict that this effects will intensify, causing vicious spiral which will decrease my performances on tasks as per the Yerkes-Dodson arousal Curve (Ch. 9) (Basri et al. 2020). For instance, my performance levels on education and studying will reduce as my arousal levels will be low due to my obsession (e-variable) to the Netflix films. These levels of stress may diminish my ability to attend to certain psychological functions of life (Basri et al. 2020).

As per my education, I predict that I may be a victim to reinforcement (Ch. 7) which will drastically affect my education. If I do not change, I will get lower grades which may affect my overall course selection and will finally change the course of my life. or kicked

Change

A suggestion for changing this particular behavior can be applied to the concept of positive reinforcement (Ch. 5) in using my time more wisely, such as study flashcards or productively reading textbook chapters, instead of spending my unused time watching TV shows on Netflix. (Allen & Madden, 2019). I can even ask my classmates if they are also struggling to join me and practice vocab/specific terms. For example, if I refuse to watch Netflix throughout the week and see only two episodes of “The Flash” on Saturday, I will treat myself to some popcorn. I will be using positive reinforcement to increase the behavior by rewarding myself with something I enjoy.

Another suggestion that could help me change this behavior is “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.” (Ch. 7) Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to change my behavior by reaching out to others to fulfill my need for love and belonging. The condition for achieving more profound and more meaningful relationships could be satisfied by seeking fellowship with family and friends from my church. Social support (Ch.9) can be beneficial because I can be with like-mind people who can boost each other’s ego and lend out a helping hand (Basri et al. 2020).

Conclusion

My Netflix obsession is an addiction that I need to place a halt to it. Here, we have described the issue at hand, explained the issue and predicted the outcome if the issue is not resolved. On the last part, we have looked at how to resolve the issue and changes that should be made to deject these issues.

References

Allen, C. T., & Madden, T. J. (2019). A closer look at classical conditioning. Journal of consumer research, 12(3), 301-315.

Basri, H., Amin, S., Umiyati, M., Mukhlis, H., & Irviani, R. (2020). Learning theory of conditioning. Learning, 7(08), 2020.