Binge-Watching
According to Sydneyeve Matrix's essay "The Netflix Effect: Teens, Binge Watching, and On-Demand Digital Media Trends", the marathon watching that Netflix causes when they release all episodes of a season at one time dismantles social TV viewing practices.
Before Netflix, there was a time when people would discuss each episode one at a time. The day after a new episode of ER aired, everyone at school or work would be chatting about their thoughts, feelings, and predictions of the storyline. This is the type of social bonding that Matrix refers to as "cultural unification effects". Since binge-watching has become so popular now, it is difficult to be at the same point of the season as someone else. This makes discussing the show nearly impossible because of the risk of spoilers. If more people are unable to gossip about what they saw on TV the night before, TV will become an isolating experience.As a larger share of the TV audience consumes more TV shows via Netflix and other OTT (over-the-top) services, some critics argue that such consumption practices interfere with the cultural unification effects (or “water cooler talk”) that bond people through shared, mass-mediated experiences.
-Sydneyeve Matrix, "The Netflix Effect: Teens, Binge Watching, and On-Demand Media Trends"
Talk show hosts are already making fun of the isolating effects that Netflix has brought to our society.
In this video, Ellen Degeneres jokes about how binge-watching can lead to not seeing your family for three months. Although this is an over exaggeration for comedic purposes, it is a real problem how Netflix can be so isolating.