Courtesy NetflixThe relationship between a binge-watcher and their Netflix account is a complicated one.
It's codependent, for certain: The binge-watcher doesn't know what they would do without unlimited access to hundreds of shows, and Netflix certainly needs constant validation (yes, buddy, we're still watching!). It can save you inordinate amounts of time, with instant access to whatever you need, and none of that Google-ing around for bootleg versions online that will ultimately fry your computer. But it can also suck you into a vortex of time and space, in which you lose all connection to the outside world.
But in 2016, the world's collective relationship with Netflix grew and grew.
2016 was big for the streaming service, what with the explosions of reboots (hello, Fuller House and Gilmore Girls!) and all those award show nominations. Even more that was all the ways that the way in which we interact with Netflix changed. There were so many upgrades and updates and hacks. Oh, the hacks!
The world learned so much about the site that it's hard to keep track, which is why we're looking back at all the most important changes, so that you can live your best Netflix life in 2017.
We learned that Netflix affects your love life. In other words, Big Brother really is everywhere. But in all seriousness, on the heels of the overwhelming popularity of Netflix and Chill, the service decided to poll a group of its users to see how binge-watching affects relationships, and the results were fascinating. For instance, 25% of people find a person more attractive based solely on the shows that they watch. And 27% insisted that compatibility in show-watching was an important part of a relationship. So if you die for Stranger Things but your partner isn't a fan of thrillers, then it probably isn't in the stars.
It gets crazier: 51% of people polled said that you can tell a relationship is serious when a couple has shared its Netflix passwords with each other. And 17% of people won't share said password until someone puts a ring on it. It might be time to loosen up, but that's just us.
We learned that a veritable crap ton of Disney movies are coming. Netflix finally wised up to the fact that the movie selection wildly pales in comparison to the television selection. Where one audience gets House of Cards and every episode of Gilmore Girls, another audience gets...straight-to-DVD romantic comedies. But this fall, everything changed with the announcement that not only would the site be adding a large number of classic Disney flicks to the queue, but all of the new releases would land on Netflix after they leave theaters.
This month we'll be getting The Jungle Book live-action version and Captain America: Civil War, to name a few.
We learned that Netflix knows which episode of a show gets viewers hooked into binge-watching. See above reference to Big Brother, and then get over it because this is pretty cool. If you're looking to become addicted to a new program, you now know how long you have to stick with it before the payoff. For Fuller House, wait until episode four. With Gilmore Girls, stick it out until the seventh episode. If you're trying out How to Get Away With Murder, you need only to watch the first three before the addiction will set in. You are welcome.
We learned that you don't even need Internet anymore. Welcome to the post-WiFi world, ladies and gentleman. Never again will you be tethered to an Internet connection or forced to pay inexplicably high fees for airplane wireless. Now you can watch Netflix literally anywhere in the world. Hot tip, though: You need to download them first, so make sure to stock your account with whatever you want for your next flight. (And yes, this will make Christmas travel that much better.)
We learned that our food will never get cold while we decide what to watch again. Or at the very least, that it won't get quite as cold as it used to. Whereas in the old Netflix a person could surf for ages looking through every episode of every television program, desperate to find something that fit their current vibe, the new and improved version actually shows previews for everything while you're scrolling. So users can actually make split-second decisions in the moment about whether a certain show is a yay or a nay, and then move on accordingly, thus saving them precious moments with whatever hot, delicious meal they have waiting on their lap for them.