Bzzz, bzzz. “Hey babe, you wanna come over, watch Netflix, and chill?” Who hasn’t gotten that text before? Maybe it was 1 a.m. on a Friday, or it could have been a random night of the week, or maybe just maybe it was the middle of the day. Regardless of the time of day, there is only one thing that text means: hook-up city. Now I’m not saying this is necessarily the most beautifully crafted text that makes your heart sing—we all need a little extra “fun” in our lives—but seriously, is that the best we can do?
I have been Netflix and chilling for as long as I can remember, and I’m sure you have too. It’s that thing we used to do in middle and high school. It may not have been Netflix; however, the concept is the same. You when over to said significant other’s house, did some mundane activity, and after five minutes made out until your mom picked you up. Just writing that makes me cringe, with memories of all the time wasted sucking face during glorious summer afternoons.
Fast forward a couple of years, and the same thing happens, except this time we have coined the term, “Netflix and chill.” For the love of God, have we not progressed? Where is the chase? Where is the romance? Where is the love of love???? Why can’t we have those romances we idolize in the movies we are not watching while we “Netflix and chill”?
Am I just being naïve? Has our culture evolved so that we don’t care about the journey that makes a relationship a real romance? We use to idolize those Audrey Hepburn-type romances, full of thoughtful and grand gestures. Now we watch movies romanticizing the friends with benefits relationship, which despite all odds worked, maybe.
Perhaps, it goes back to the principle of Netflix and chill. Our society has progressed so that technology has taken over our everyday interactions. We have everything we want at our fingertips, including the ability to create these grand gestures, yet we are just so lazy. It amazes me that people still go out on the weekend. The narcissist in me believes even going out will cease to happen eventually.
We Netflix and chill because it’s easy to get what we want when we want it. That is just so sad, yet I am just as guilty of it as the next person. Being a mostly optimistic person, I hope this is just a college phase and some grand gesture-type man will come sweep me off my feet. However, the more technology and our perception of a stable, loving relationship changes, I have this sneaking suspicion this is not a phase. Please, world, let me be wrong, and leave the Netflix out of this!