The school year has just begun, which is a nightmare for Netflix binge watchers.  Netflix, along with other video streaming websites, has become exponentially popular within the past couple of years, especially among high school students.  In order to adjust to the new academic year, students should unsubscribe from video streaming apps as well as delete or temporarily disable their social media accounts.

Many students have actively used Netflix over the summer, and breaking that habit is more difficult than it may appear.  To eliminate this diversion, students should unsubscribe, or better yet delete apps such as Netflix, in order to focus more on academics.

“Netflix has been a huge distraction to me over the years, and deleting it this year has been very beneficial to me so far,” said junior Sarabeth Schiff.

Netflix takes up a significant amount of time from completing school work.  For instance, In one season of a show, there are approximately twenty episodes, each one lasting from forty minutes to an hour.  On top of this, there are about five to six seasons in an entire show.  Just one show could take months to finish, and it can become extremely easy to get addicted.

“When I start a new show, I know that I will not be leaving my room for days,” said junior Hannah Smith.

While relaxing and taking scheduled breaks from your work is a necessity from time to time, with Netflix handy, these breaks from school work can spin out of control and bring on stress in the future.  Schoolwork should be a high school student’s top priority, and Netflix and other streaming websites can prevent students from excelling.

Netflix is a distraction to high school students even when you aren’t actively watching it.  With the constant thought of your next Netflix break looming in the back of students’ minds, they could not possibly complete work efficiently.

“If I get really into a show, I’m always thinking about the characters and what’s gonna happen next if there’s a cliffhanger,” said junior Natasha Pelossof.

On top of the huge distraction of video streaming apps, social media can also  distract a student from completing their work in a timely manner.  Some students who are aware of the power of social media may go as far as deleting their Instagram and Snapchat apps from their phone completely.  Once these apps are deleted, students can easily focus on their studies and finish their work more quickly than when these apps remained on their phones.

While these apps are incredibly distracting, it doesn’t mean that Netflix, along with other social media apps, should never be used.  In moderation, watching a tiny amount of TV can be a good way to relax after getting assigned an abundance of homework.  Since students must adjust after a long summer break, it is beneficial to stay off of social media and other streaming apps.  However, once students settle into the school year, they should reward themselves with a TV break once in awhile.

“Taking breaks every now and then helps me refocus,” said junior Carter Shields.

Although students should delete these apps at the beginning of the academic year, that doesn’t mean that they should never get them back.