With cold weather creeping up, plenty of students find warmth in their dorm rooms and entertainment through the comforts of binge watching. Two of the most popular streaming services for students include Netflix and Hulu, and a few students on campus shared their experiences using them, along with a few viewing recommendations.
Sophomore Carter Behler prefers Neflix.
“I’ve had it for years now so it’s all I could know,” Behler said. “When I watch Netflix, I like to usually have it as background noise while I do other things.”
He watches numerous shows, with his current addictions being “New Girl” and “Parks and Recreation.” For a more unique watch, he recommends “Dexter.”
“It is very graphic, but the storyline, plot and main character are so well written it is easy to look past some of the graphic content.”
Since Behler gets through shows rather quickly, he has a passion for re-watching his favorites.
“I’ve had Netflix for so long that I have been through so many shows,” Behler said. “I have probably seen ‘The Office’ upwards of 20-30 times…I often hear myself saying ‘just one more’ except I say it more than once. As much as I’d like to say it was worth it, I always wake up the next morning with regret of the sleep I missed out on the night before, especially since I have already seen every episode that is offered.”
Senior Tetta Askeland also prefers Netflix, with some of her favorites being “Dexter,” “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation, and a show she wishes more people knew about: “Weeds.” She tends to get through a show in about a weekend or two. Askeland also re-watches shows from time to time
“I rewatch shows if I don’t like my current Netflix options,” Askeland said. “This happens probably once or twice a year.”
However, Askeland is not so attached to Netflix that it affects her sleep.
“I like sleep more than most humans or TV shows,” she said. “Sleep wins every time.”
Senior Joel Haden, on the other hand, prefers Hulu.
“Having shows available the day after they air on television is an awesome feature,” Haden said. “While Netflix has more options, Hulu’s availability makes it preferable.”
His current recommendations include “Stranger Things,” “Bojack Horseman,” “Game of Thrones” and the two he wishes more people watched: “The Path” and “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
“‘The Path’ is a Hulu original that depicts life in a cult setting and the struggles a family experiences in it, and ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ shows a totalitarian scenario in which women’s rights and roles have been subverted to horrifying ends,” he explained.
It takes Haden around a week to get through a season of a show, and he doesn’t tend to re-watch them.
“I only re-watch shows when a new season is coming soon, and I want to get a friend caught up on it,” Haden said. “Otherwise, I already know where the story is going and don’t enjoy it as much.”
If you find yourself in a binging rut during this upcoming winter season, try out a few of these recommendations to get started.
