Welcoming the virtual world to our homes, ‘when it hasn’t been our day,week,month or even year'

The beloved binge-watching app, Netflix

“Could we watch any more movies and shows?” If you heard Chandler’s voice from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. as you read that phrase, it’s probably because you’re a big fan of the sitcom or have watched it for the 283rd time during the COVID-19 lockdown. If our lives were a TV show, then the current pandemic, “the one where everyone stayed is staying home” must be the most unplanned episode the world would ever face and its impact on us alone would be a movie with at least 3 sequels.

In July, The Hindu reported, “Netflix adds 10 million new subscribers from April to June 2020”, which is not surprising. When the announcement for lockdown was made, the urban crowd plunged into the ocean of movies and TV shows from various media service providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hotstar Disney Plus and so on.

Out of 100 young people familiar with Netflix and Amazon Prime, between the ages of 18 and 25, 63 people have said that binge-watching has become a part of their daily routine since the lockdown, while the rest did not watch often, but still more than they normally do. This 63% represents a huge young internet audience who motivate the entertainment industry today to release their films on OTT platforms. More than 90 original movies were released on Netflix this year despite movie theatres being closed, and more are on their way.

When the question of preference between news or movies and TV shows was put forth, 93% viewers voted for movies and TV shows even though the daily news was equally dramatic. The viewers were interested in shows relating to politics, history, science, murder investigation, and drama. One may wonder why the young generation wants to dismiss the horrific reality as they enter the virtual sphere in comfort. ‘I couldn’t watch the news anymore’ most of them said, ‘It’s not as interesting as Money Heist’, they added.

The array of shows and movies did not limit itself to different languages but a variety of genres as well. The evergreen American Sitcom ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ still leads the ‘Most-watched TV Show List’ during the lockdown. Hotstar tied hands with Disney and extended itself to Hotstar Disney Plus, providing more options to their audience. In addition, TV channels have further pushed their agendas with more movies in their daily telecast.

Shows ranging from Peaky Blinders, Money Heist to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Downton Abbey, and movies like The King and Enola Holmes keep travel lovers satisfied with excellent and realistic settings of Europe. Besides this, Korean soaps and Chinese dramas also topped the ‘Most-Watched Shows During the Lockdown’ list. “I don’t remember the time I did not run the day without watching K-Drama”, says Kiran, a K-Drama fan. American High School dramas like Riverdale, 13 Reasons Why and the recently released Never have I Ever have greatly influenced the choice of entertainment among teenagers.

As binge watching became part of life, shows with a didactic message gained popularity during the lockdown. Series like It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, which was focused on mental health and healing psychological wounds won most hearts during this lockdown. Ironically, when the entire world was commenting on police brutality after the George Floyd case, people in their own world were still laughing at Jake Peralta’s jokes in Brooklyn Nine Nine.

And this is how most of us spent the past six months in front of our screens.

Names have been changed to safeguard privacy

The above data is taken from 40 Netflix Subscribers’ (between age 16-25) preferences (Original data)

Editors: Shanmuga Priya, Evita Vincy