With the increase in COVID-19 cases and serious precautions being taken by many businesses, it is now normal to see the world shut down. Movie theater chains have closed, concerts and gatherings have been canceled, and many businesses shut down.

The very limited amount of activities that people can do due to social distancing rules has led to an increase in binge watching behaviors. According to the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 73.7% of the 551 individuals who participated in the survey admitted to having an increase in binge-watching.

Many new shows and movies have come out since March, bringing entertainment for those who have stayed at home for the past 6 months. “Tiger King” came out on Netflix during the very beginning of quarantine in March, bringing around 34 million viewers.

Instead of watching a new series or a new movie on Netflix, others rewatched older movies and TV shows.

“Over quarantine I really got into rewatching shows I’ve already watched. I first started off with Charmed and then when I realized I honestly remembered nothing from when I watched it the first time, I ended up binge watching and finishing it the second time,” junior Hannah Ajogbeje said. “After that I realized there are so many good shows I’ve once watched but don’t even remember them that well, so I decided to rewatch them. I watched Scandal, finished How to Get Away with Murder, and started watching Grey’s Anatomy again.”

Even though rewatching shows become popular doing quarantine, others decided to scope out recent movies and TV shows.

“Artemis Fowl on Disney+ was definitely worth the watch in my opinion. Other then that, I have been opting for more of the oldies that I never really got the chance to watch, like Silence of the Lambs which is actually one of my new favorite movies,” junior Madalyn Schoneman said.

New movies and shows from different streaming services has brought comfort to many who have been at home. With the limited things there are to do, binge watching has been popular for many.

“I feel like quarantine gave me a lot of free time because I couldn’t go anywhere so I was just stuck at home 24/7. I honestly spent my whole day watching a movie or a show mostly out of boredom. Before quarantine it was really hard for me to fit in my shows and daily binge watching them,” Ajogbeje said.