"Netflix and Chill"
"Hey, my parent aren't home. Do you want to Netflix and chill? ;)"
This is the text that a countless number of people have sent or received ever since Netflix has been on the rise. It has become a common activity to go over someone's house and start out watching Netflix, but have the date escalate into sexual intercourse. The phenomenon is so common that memes and viral Youtube videos have surfaced on the internet.
There are many reasons for this phrase to be used as often as it is. One reason is that it can have multiple meanings. If someone were to decline a "Netflix and chill" offer, the person offering can easily explain that they meant no indiction of sex. The words "Netflix and chill" can simply mean two friends hanging out and watching Netflix together. According to Kevin Roose's article "‘Netflix and Chill’: the Complete History of a Viral Sex Catchphrase", this phrase can also be used as code to deflect nosey parents.
It is a typical parental strategy to check a child's texts to make sure they aren't participating in disapproving activities. Having sex can be one of these disapproving activities in some households. Roose makes an accurate observation of many high school aged males. To someone who doesn't already know how "Netflix and chill" is meant to be interpreted, it seems like a harmless session of hanging out with a friend. This is why many parents wouldn't think twice if they saw those words in their child's texts.If you were 16, and your parents caught you texting “Netflix and chill?” to your girlfriend, they might think you were proposing an innocent night of watching Chopped on the couch.
-Kevin Roose, fusion.net
