Netflix describes cable TV as a linear system that consumers, provided the resource, want to do away with. Well, Netflix is that resource. You can watch however many episodes you want of your favorite TV show in one night with no wait involved. Unfortunately, this makes it even easier for students to waste time on TV and an endless supply of movies.
I’ve never given something up for Lent before so I decided to try it out. I thought the single, pettiest time-waster I have is Netflix, so I decided to not watch a single movie or show for Lent. Watching movies or TV shows is addictive and you can easily watch tons of shows when you’re just chilling in your room. It’s easy to think you’re being productive by doing homework while watching a show, but in reality you are 10 times as slow.
Here are some other things I need to do away with – maybe you can relate.
Biggest time wasters in a college student’s life:
- Social media
This one is undoubtedly the single biggest time waster. According to TIME’s calculator, if I spent 30 minutes a day on Facebook I would’ve wasted 35 days, 22 hours, 55 minutes since June 2010.
- Netflix
This is another huge one. Netflix is cheap, accessible on any device and provides your favorite TV show seasons with the click of the button.
- Video/online games
I can spend hours playing games and earning virtual points in a simulated reality and feel really good about myself – and then I realize I have a mound of homework. Yeah, this one needs to find its way out the door.
- Snacking
This is a strange time waster. You’re bored; you don’t want to work on that paper so you just go eat something. This usually goes hand-in-hand with another time waster, usually Netflix or surfing the web.
- TV/movies
Like Netflix, but continual. You don’t even have to switch the channel; you can just sit doing nothing but stimulate your visuals for hours on end. It makes me glad I was raised without cable TV.
- Surfing the web
Need I say more?
- Texting
Texting itself is not bad, but students on average spend 8-10 hours on their cell phone and 94 minutes a day texting alone, according to a Psych Central study.
- Hanging out
I’m not going to claim that hanging out with friends is a useless thing to do; but there is a lot of time wasted just “hanging” around – dillydallying if you will. You accomplish most of nothing and then wonder where all the time went.
- Reading junky books
There is just something more appealing to reading a stupid fiction book than a textbook – I’m not really sure why. While I wouldn’t call reading good fiction a time waster, there are definitely books that would be a complete waste of time.
- Online shopping
This hits two birds with one stone: it is a time waster, but also a really easy way to spend all your money. If you ever need to get rid of some cash, just spend an hour on Amazon.
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