By Patrick Goodwin
CAUTION: Consuming too much of these can cause a problem to your health and your social life.
Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are causing people to binge-watch television series and movies. With various streaming services on the market today such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, and Amazon Prime, which service wins over other services in the minds of college students?
Nick Frederick, a sophomore at Fitchburg State University, uses Netflix as a way to watch movies and television shows. He said he uses Netflix over other pay-subscription services because one of his friends had given him their password and never logged out. Frederick said he chooses Netflix because they have a large selection, no commercials, and he enjoys watching bad anime that Netflix provides. Frederick admits that last year he spent a lot of time binge-watching Netflix, but as this year started he said that he has not been watching as much Netflix.
As a resident living on campus, Frederick is also given a membership to HBO Go. Frederick said that he occasionally uses HBO Go to watch “Game of Thrones,” “Silicon Valley,” and “The Brink.” He said that the HBO Go selection of movies is OK depending on your movie preferences.
Seth Martin-Wick, a senior at FSU, uses both Netflix and Amazon Prime, but he said primarily uses Netflix. Martin-Wick said he is also a “moocher”; his grandfather is the Netflix provider. Netflix wins in Martin-Wick’s opinion because it is easier to use and looks nicer compared to Amazon Prime. Martin-Wick is also a binge-watcher, but said that fortunately it did not hold him back too much since he realized that he needed to stop mindlessly watching hours and hours of nonstop Netflix. Martin-Wick also uses the HBO Go membership that housing provides; he uses it mainly to watch two series, “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective.”
Dan Fallon, a junior at FSU, and said he uses Netflix and tried Hulu for a short time. Fallon said that one of the downsides of Hulu is that it still has commercials even though you pay to use it. Fallon prefers Netflix to Hulu for two major reasons: Netflix contains a lot more anime that he enjoys compared to Hulu, and Netflix does not have commercials during the shows and movies he watches. Fallon admits that there are days when he does binge-watch Netflix, but there are also days when he does not watch nearly as much. Fallon does not use HBO Go as much as Frederick and Martin-Wick do; Fallon said he only used HBO Go twice.
In the minds of two college students at FSU, Netflix still holds No. 1 compared to other streaming services such as Hulu and Amazon Prime. Frederick, Martin-Wick, and Fallon also take advantage of the HBO Go memberships that were given to them.