My Life Via Netflix

The other day, while I was poking around the account settings of my Netflix account to update my payment information, I came across an interesting link.

Download your personal information

 “The download will include a copy of your viewing activity on Netflix.”

For someone who gets a bit hung up on nostalgia (I recently rifled through a box of notes from middle school, which was over 30 years ago) the idea of being able to go back and see my Netflix history was irresistible.

And sure enough, there in the 14,000 rows of a spreadsheet, was the last ten years of our lives.

2010

The boys are two years old. Netflix streaming had been around for a few years already, but with infant triplets, watching TV was way below sleep and sitting in silence on our list of free-time activities. But they had asthma, and we had to give each of them a breathing treatment twice a day, every day. And you know the best way to keep wriggling toddlers still? Stick them in front of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Right before the boys’ 3rd birthday party, I sneezed and herniated a disc in my back. I was basically sofa-bound for the next several months until I had surgery. I watched a lot of Netflix during that time. Downton Abbey, Bones, and Better off Ted interspersed with a lot of Backyardigans. (Is that song in your head now too?)

2012

The year passes in a blur of Fishtronaut (what was that?) and Backyardigans. Blues Clues sneaks in mid-year, as well as a lot of Breaking Bad. I’m going to assume that was my husband, but who knows. There’s a notable rise in Marvel movies. And yes, they were Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man for Halloween that year.

2013

I had surgery again. This time I recovered with Archer and Call the Midwife, and apparently a lot of Transformers. (The boys are now 5.)

Superheroes are still very big in our house. They eventually make their way to the works of the Power Rangers. It wasn’t not cute, but it was a very noisy period with all of the sound effects.

2014

A lot of Transformers, a lot of LEGOs. Also, a lot of Justin Time, which features an anthropomorphic piece of toast. I mean, sure. Why not?

2015

The year of the Pokemon. Inexplicably, this is also the year they made a Power Rangers movie (okay, with my help.) Maybe they, too, were being nostalgic.

2016

My babies aren’t babies anymore. They now watch a show with obnoxious teenagers from Disney. Lab Rats is on all day, every day for a good six months. (When it’s not on, it’s Pokemon.)

Meanwhile, I’m doing a rewatch of Friends.

2017

Lab Rats and Pokemon. All-day every day.

Oh hello, Phineas and Ferb! It’s nice to meet you!

2018

At the end of the year, I go on sabbatical and when the boys are at school, I watch the shows that I can’t watch when they are around. If you haven’t watched Sex Education or Bigmouth here’s me recommending them. (But like I said, not when the kids are home.)

2019

I definitely have pre-teens. Fuller House features prominently.

Around the middle of the year, I finally find a show for us to watch together. We start The Good Place and are collectively obsessed for the next several months. I start them on Parks and Recreation, and often I would be walking around my house with episodes from three different seasons playing in three different rooms. They almost ruined the show for me. Fortunately, my niece introduced them to The Office and we started on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (on Hulu.)

2020

Those shows make up the vast majority of our Netflix history up until quarantine started. They’d gotten an Xbox for Christmas, so they watched less TV and played more video games. I started doing puzzles and did a rewatch of the entire Avengers series, this time in chronological order.

In August, I finally made myself sit down and watch Schitt’s Creek. I’d tried a few times, but I just couldn’t get into it. Finally, I forced myself to watch while I rode my Peloton, or while I sewed. And it didn’t take too long to see what the fuss was all about. I should probably be ashamed to say my Netflix history since then is quite literally 96.3% Schitt’s Creek. However, since it’s one of the best shows ever, I am not.

2021

Still watching Schitt’s Creek (and, you know, the news.) In this day and age, it’s hard not to stick to comfort watching when I can.

What does your Netflix history say about you? Check it out!

Pam Kocke
My name is Pam, and I live in Algiers Point with my husband George and my identical triplets Linus, Oliver, and Miles. I work from home as a Happiness Engineer for Automattic. I enjoy reading and photography and sewing (and blogging!)

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