- According to the Nielsen Total Audience Report,
in quarter one of 2017,
the average American adult spent
about 11 hours and 18 minutes a day
consuming media content.
This got me thinking.
If we didn't have such easy access
to unlimited entertainment,
what would we spend our time on--
Oh, I burped!
What would we spend our time on?
Hobbies? Laundry?
Building an indestructible empire?
To answer this question,
I have persuaded three of my all-too-trusting co-workers
to take the plunge and stop streaming for a week.
(mellow music)
- There's not a day I'd go without watching Netflix.
I watch it when I get ready.
Immediately when I get home or when I'm cooking.
Like, in the background for white noise.
Now that I'm talking about it,
I realize that I may have a problem.
- I literally stream things
every second I'm on my bed or on my couch.
I'll drop by my house and watch.
I'll stream something for lunch.
- [Sara] Wait. You go home and stream things?
- Yeah.
- I definitely watch once a day,
if not twice.
Sometimes I let myself watch it
while I put my makeup on in the mornings,
but that's a treat.
- Murder documentaries.
- The OA.
Love Game of Thrones.
Love Broad City.
- Sex and the City.
This is Us.
- Girls on HBO.
Insecure.
- Right now I'm addicted to Vampire Diaries again.
Why?
I don't know.
- So, I really wanna deep clean my apartment,
but I keep getting distracted.
Reading is the biggest thing for me
because I have a bookshelf of books
that I have read like five pages of each.
- [Sara] So, you said you really liked The Handmaid's Tale.
- Yes. Oh, my god!
- So, I got you some other books by Margaret Atwood.
- Oh, amazing!
- And you also said you wanted to organize.
- I do.
- So, I got you a drawer organizer.
- Oh, that's so cute!
- I've always wanted to learn how to cook.
Everyone around me knows that I can't cook.
Also, my boyfriend loves boardgames.
If I had a choice between boardgames or streaming,
I'd rather watch something.
This might encourage us to play more boardgames.
- So, I got you a Game of Thrones cookbook.
- Ah, this is so nice.
- And then, I also got you a boardgame.
- This feels nicer than streaming.
I'm getting presents.
- I think one of the things I would do
is definitely work out more
because I have gym in my apartment
and I haven't even been in it to see it.
- [Sara] Okay, so first I have a book,
'cuz you said you love the ocean
and this seemed like a really good book.
You did say you wanna exercise more,
so I got you a kit to exercise at home.
- Although I do have a gym at my apartment,
I am shy to go workout in front of people.
So, cool.
(mellow music)
No.
- That's a great idea.
- Ah!
- I'm excited now.
(dramatic boom)
Just informed my sister I'm doing this
no-streaming thing
and she wanted to watch English TV while we eat
and she's not too pleased.
- (beep) stupid.
- Life outside of Netflix--
Real life is hard, okay?
Not only do I have to fill this up half way today
with the foot pump,
I have to wait 24 hours to continue to fill it up.
- I'm standing in front of my TV.
I just got home
and I'm gonna unplug my Chromecast,
which helps me stream things
from my computer and phone.
Unplugging the Chromecast.
- My boyfriend really wanted to watch TV,
so he is while I'm not facing it
and facing the window.
Literally just sitting here.
(dramatic music)
- So, Maya told me that she streamed an episode
of the Vampire Diaries last night
and that's against the rules, I'm afraid.
- Oh, no.
- How dare--
How could you?
- Before I started this,
I was watching the last episode before the end
of the entire series and I couldn't stop.
- You couldn't wait?
So, I do have to tell you a spoiler from Jane the Virgin.
- Okay. - In season three,
episode ten from Jane the Virgin
(beep)
- What?
Wait.
I'm gonna cry.
But I'm done with Netflix.
I've learned my lesson. - You learned your lesson?
- That was the most, like, ugh!
- And I also found out that Kane
watched Game of Thrones.
To be fair, it was the Game of Thrones season premiere.
So, maybe I was a little harsh in expecting him
to not watch that.
Well, well, well.
Look what we have here.
- I did so well and then--
- [Sara] Did you do well?
I don't know.
- I experienced life on a new level
and then, Game of Thrones came out
and I was just having so much FOMO.
- [Sara] We're gonna give you a spoiler from
How to Get Away with Murder.
I have not seen this show,
so this means nothing to mean.
There's a character named Wes on this show.
- Uh huh.
- Apparently (beep)
- No, you're lying!
- [Sara] That was it.
- That was very sad.
- So, I've just worked out like a crazy person
at this insane bootcamp thing
and usually I'd come home
and just be like chill and watch TV and I can't,
so I'm doing a puzzle
like an 80 year old.
- [Maya] Look at her go.
I filled it up and it came with this little thing.
But, I think we're gonna use this in the pool.
All right, we're about to work out with this thing.
- Let's go. - Let's go.
- It's a weekday and instead of streaming something
we're gonna play Game of Thrones Monopoly.
- Look at this.
The TV is not on.
And I am gonna read this book
like a grown up who doesn't need TV to entertain them.
Last night was the first time
I actually decided to read
for the last 20 minutes of me being awake
and I had forgotten how calming reading actually is.
It was like a really nice time.
- Cheers.
- All I wanna do is lay in bed and watch Netflix.
Hello, darkness. My old friend.
- So, I've had a super long day
and I'm so exhausted
and I just wanna lay down and watch TV
and I'm wondering if DVDs count.
- We actually went and got pillows for the apartment.
We went to a live comedy show at UCB.
It was nice to explore the city
and not stay in our apartment.
- Today is the last day of not being able to stream
and I'm so excited
and I'm excited to watch Netflix whenever I want.
- Not streaming for a week was really great.
- I'm pretty happy to be done with not streaming, honestly.
- I hate when I get told I can't do something
'cuz then I wanna do it even more.
- I definitely felt like a better person
for not streaming all the time
'cuz I do feel like a lazy asshole when I do that.
- I played a lot of boardgames.
I cooked a lot.
We finally furnished our apartment.
I was a lot more productive during the week.
- I tried to set up that exercise ball,
but it was so difficult
and I tried to read,
but it was so difficult to focus.
- I did read one of the short stories
and I started to read the second one,
but haven't got any further.
- So, instead, I ended up singing
with my ukulele like every single night
and ended up posting stuff on Instagram like I used to
and it was great.
It was great to do that again.
It felt so good.
- I definitely would want to continue this
maybe like half the week no streaming.
You know?
- I definitely wanna try and stream less now.
I definitely feel like I can get more done
and I don't need it as much.
I think it's just being allowed to have it
is what I need.
- I would definitely do a streaming purge again
just because I did so much creatively
that I haven't done within this past year
and I think it's good to do everything in moderation
and to take breaks.
- I cannot wait to get back to This is Us
'cuz I was so in the middle of it
and excited about that show
and then I had to just cut it off.
- So, can I watch Netflix now?
- [Sara] I guess.
- Is it safe to?
- [Sara] Sure.
- Cool, 'cuz I was about to watch it on my phone.
(upbeat music)