Alexander Pope is quoted to have said “to err is human,” a simple statement that has become the epitome of human nature. Being human myself, I too have committed my fair share of mistake, but none of such relevance and magnitude to my current state of life as the mistake of viewing Netflix.

While the mistake of excessively viewing Netflix arose only a few weeks ago, the problem first began in the fall of 2013, when my family and I were first considering the possibility of severing ourselves from our cable television provider, Time Warner Cable. Due to high rates and limited channel selection, we were eager to find alternative ways to indulge ourselves with televised programming. To combat this dilemma, two options arose. First, we purchased and installed an HD antenna, which we purchased for a promotional price and were able to access major channels with. Our second solution was to subscribe to an internet streaming service such as Netflix, and we did so after testing the service through the one month free trial. After cancelling our cable subscription, my family and I were left with NBC, KPBS, and the assortment of shows and movies available through Netflix.
After our subscription to Netflix began,my mistake did as well. I downloaded and installed the Netflix application of my laptop, and began to search the vast troves of available media. As the weeks passed, I discovered and viewed many shows. The ability to view entire seasons of
television series was a wonderful experience, thus far unparalleled by any other service I had utilized. On weekends I would spend hours upon hours viewing popular shows
such as Sherlock and Doctor Who. I would become so deeply focused on the image projected in front of me I would reach a state of suspended disbelief, becoming so intently connected to the media I would effectively disconnect from the physical implications of feelings such as touch, taste, and smell, and would begin to realize such phenomena as a part of the fictional universes that I would visit in the wonderful realm of Netflix. My sessions of media binging would remain relatively isolated to Fridays, weekends, and the occasional afternoon of no homework, but that was to be destroyed as the full extent of Netflix’s wrath took hold.

Only a few weeks ago, upon finishing the available seasons of “Doctor Who” on Netflix, I found myself without viewing material and once again began to search the vast library of Netflix for a new show with which to immerse myself. After a decent amount of searching, I decided on the Television series “Futurama,” a production that would become my greatest burden. “Futurama” is of stark contrast to the BBC television shows I had viewed in the past, being comprised of twenty-two minute animated episodes instead of the ninety-minute productions akin to “Sherlock.” This unfortunate attribute of the show allowed me to watch occasional episodes on school nights, and it soon came to be a daily indulgence for me. As I would lounge around at home after a day of school, I would find myself opening my laptop and watching an episode of the show every couple of nights, and soon every night. My viewing of the show eventually became so rampant that I found myself putting off my daily homework and studies until after I had finished an episode or two, and would find myself sometimes not even starting work on my assignments until late at night. As this burden became a daily activity, I began experiencing the effects of reduced sleep, and would have trouble waking up on time in the morning as well.

The effects of Netflix are still taking their toll on me this very day, as I have yet to reach the end of the series “Futurama.” I continue to find myself up to midnight completing assignments or papers, only to have spent the afternoon gawking at the antics of the cast of that vile yet incredibly entertaining show. Despite its continued effect on me, however, I feel that my ability to work under pressure has flourished due to constant exercise. Truthfully, the simplest way to describe the moral of my dilemna is that too much of a good thing can have dire consequences. The attractiveness of limitless television at my fingertips on my laptop has proven too much to combat, and I have found myself embodying the words of Paul R. Ehrlich: “Too err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.”