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By Kaitlin Marie

One time my boyfriend and I were chatting about life and psychology and parties and people (we were in college at the time) and he told me, “Everyone has an addiction.”  I was quick to disagree, but then he cocked his head, gave me a skeptical look, and asked, “Do you have a book in your purse right now?”

I did have a book in my purse. I like to have an emergency novel on me in case of unplanned, wait-requiring circumstances. Or if I have to eat lunch by myself and don’t want to look like a loser with no friends. A book says, “I’M ALONE BY CHOICE BECAUSE I’M READING, BITCHES!”

I suppose up until that point, I had considered the word “addiction” as a label to be applied to  serious problems like substance abuse or gambling. I wouldn’t have thought I was book-addicted.  But nowadays we toss the word “addiction” around like it’s a joke.

Examples:

1. OMG I’m, like, sooooooo addicted to mochaccinos.

2. UGG  boots are totally addicting*. You can’t just have one pair.

* It’s “AddictIVE”, not “addictING”!

** “Addicting” isn’t even a WORD!

But I digress.

Because, guys. GUYS. Netflix is, like, sooooooooooo addicting. For realz.

How It Started

Innocently enough, as these things are wont to do. My awesomesauce boyfriend gave me access to his Netflx streaming account. Being technologically badass, he also set up my laptop so I could connect it to my TV.

Little did I know that this seemingly innocuous act would lead to my imminent death addiction.

I’ve never really considred myself a “TV Person.” I don’t have cable and haven’t for years. I dislike mindless channel surfing and rarely watch TV unless I plan to because a show that I really, truly love is on.  However, thanks to Netflix, I have access to a near-endless stream of shows I really love.  AAAAAND now Netflix has this horrible/wonderful feature where it just automatically plays the next episode of your series when the episode you watched is over.  THIS IS A PROBLEM.

Feeding the Beast

First on my Netflix show queue was “The X-Files.” I remembered it scaring the crap out of me as a child, and I love paranormal spooky-ness. I still get goosebumps when I hear that opening music. I started with the pilot and was soon completely immersed in the world of conspiracy theories, strange creatures, and unanswered questions.

Watching “The X-Files” becaome a part of my daily ritual.  I’d come home from work, go for a run, cook up some food, and eat in front of the TV. I started shirking off domestic-necessities in favor of a quick episode fix.

However, after about 4 seasons of straight “X-Files,” the repetitive nature of the show began to grate on me.

Every single episode

I needed something stronger. That’s when I switched to “Doctor Who.”

Why “Doctor Who?” You ask. But that’s not the question you should be asking. The real question here is:

Is “The X-Files” a Gateway Series?

Can a consistent following of the Mulder and Scully adventures be statistically linked to experimentation with other, geekier sci fi series?

Someone should do a study. The truth is out there.

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem…

I didn’t really notice how bad my Netflix addiction had gotten until lately. About 2 weeks ago I took a break from running to recover from an injury. This physical break freed up a good hour of my time each evening–a good hour of wibbley wobbley timey wimey stuff that was quickly sucked into the Netflix void.

I would flop onto the couch after work and literally space out with the Doctor while the pile of dishes in my sink began to grow. In fact, since my injury, I don’t think I’ve done laundry once.

This addiction HAS TO STOP because I really, really need to do some laundry. I’m thinking of setting some parameters, such as rewarding myself with TV only AFTER I’ve done something significant, such as vacuuming or doing dishes.

Or maybe limiting my epsiode count to 2 a night.

Or maybe not….

My CompliKAITed Life is a column by Kaitlin Marie running on Kate-book.com every other Wednesday at noon. You can read all about Kaitlin’s Zombie Apocalypse plans on her blog Zombies4breakfast.com. Oh, and follow her on Twitter here or on Pinterest here. She pins obsessively.