Netflix Autoplay: The Silent Killer

It is a known fact that high school students struggle with sleeping and by that, I mean functioning when lacking it.

At JCHS, every freshman sits in Ms. Beck’s health class where we are guilted into sleeping more. For myself, the guilt wore off after two days when I discovered The Office. Since then, I have used caffeine and concealer to mask my sleep deprivation, all the while complaining about how little sleep I get. And although homework keeps me up late into the night, it is my “just one more episode” mindset that is far more detrimental to my sleep.  

I asked three students in different grades and with different workloads to comment on their sleep. Sophomore Yael Homa said that despite her late nights at rehearsal and her heavy workload she manages to get to bed relatively early, however, instead of going to sleep, she spends time on her computer or phone subject to the spell of autoplay. Senior Sara Carasso and freshman Shir Asayag experience a similar predicament in their nightly routines, where even after hours of homework, the temptation of Netflix takes precedence over sleep. A recurring theme is that most people watch one episode before they go to bed to wind down, but do not find the motivation to close their laptops after the episode finishes. Especially since Netflix will automatically play the next one fifteen seconds later.

Such a practice can put one in a never ending loop of sleep deprivation and half internalized shows. Although Netflix is tempting, sleep is actually very important, and a lack of it can really affect you mentally and physically. I challenge you to end the harmful “just one more episode” mindset, and turn off the TV in order to get a sufficient amount of sleep, so you can experience life to the fullest.