Why Can’t I Stop Watching YouTube?

Or, I’m real bad at binge watching…

The people that live with me can vouch for this fact: I will watch YouTube all day, every day if I can. I have tons of YouTubers that I keep up with, and lots of interests keep me preoccupied on the video sharing site.

All my friends can vouch for this next fact: it’s near impossible for me to sit and watch a television show or a movie all the way through. For some reason, the idea of binge watching a show on my own is terrifying. All that time wasted!

“But Mary,” you may ask, “how come you’ll watch YouTube all day but not a TV show? It’s the same amount of time wasted!”

You’re right, Reader. It IS the same amount of time wasted! In theory, there’s no difference between binge watching YouTube vids and binge watching Netflix or Hulu.

The problem is 100% mental for me. For some reason, if I’m by myself, I’d rather have something on in the background while I’m doing other stuff. For example, as I write, 99.9% of the time there’s a video in the background. The picture above is what I took just now as I write this blog post for y’all!

Trying to commit to sitting and watching a cohesive story for an hour or so gives me unexplainable anxiety. When I tried to watch Stranger Things on my own, for example, I kept thinking back to other stuff I could be doing while it was on. I gave up watching it on my own after the third episode of the first season. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show! I think it’s good, and I know it’s still good because I’ve heard nothing but good things! I just…can’t force myself to sit through another episode.

Now, if someone is in the room with me and wants to watch a show, I’ll drop everything and watch it with them. Sometimes I feel some type of way about it, but once it’s on, I’m committed. I have no idea why I’m like this (and Matt absolutely hates it), but I guess it’s easier for me to commit to watching a show or a movie if someone else is experiencing it with me.

You may be thinking now, “ya sound bonkers, Mary. That don’t make no dang sense.” And you’re totally right! It makes no sense at all. There’s so many shows I’ve stopped watching, and so many I’ve never started, because I’m weird about when and how I watch things. On the flip side, there’s so many independent people and groups that I’ve seen on YouTube, and so many different things I’ve learned because of my watching habits. Currently, I’ve been trying to get over the weird negativity I have with watching TV and movies on my own because there are shows that I know I’m missing out on. I want to watch things I know I’ll like, and I do have a running list of shows and movies I need to catch up on. Unfortunately, I have to fight with my own mind in order to do so!

I figure one day, I’ll have the time to commit to binge watching a show all on my own and I’ll have the mental fortitude to let myself be this specific brand of lazy…for now, I’ll keep playing random YouTube videos in the background while I live my life!

Thanks for reading, y’all! Maybe someday soon I’ll write a blog on my favorite YouTubers? In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter if you’d like to keep up with my daily shenanigans. Also feel free to recommend new shows and movies for me to watch! I really am trying to make an effort to catch up on all I’ve missed on TV the past few years. See y’all here next week!