Netflix has taken over my house

[BurnedOut]

Well I am not exaggerating. Netflix indeed has taken over my house. Instead writing a long rant, I will state some perceptible differences that are impossible to ignore. Just to understand when and how this phenomenon started, you need to know that our living room TV was malfunctioning. We got a new TV a few months ago. It has made my life insufferable in some regards.

Life without the new TV:
1. Mum and dad were talking with me more and furthermore engaged in reading books or novels after coming home from work. The insatiable need for AV they tried to solve by using the TV in my granny's room but thank god, the reception of the WiFi network is poor and hence the exercise usually ended in vain - discouraging anybody to watch TV using Netflix and Prime for long hours.
2. They were reading more books/online articles/music. We were having slightly more political discussions and discussions about other things. Mum and dad were more accessible before the TV arrived because they did not mind spending the nighttime chitchatting with me for a while
3. Living room has been my study place for a long time. The decision to shift my work desk to the living room was made keeping in mind that the living room TV is unlikely to be replaced. This worked well until the new TV arrived because of the cacophony that occurs in the living room due to the TV which is connected to a sound bar and a comely subwoofer. The sound is so loud that it manages to penetrate my ears despite listening to songs at a loud volume with my headphones.
4. We used to actually watch news on TV before we bought a smart TV
5. I had the privilege to play songs in the living room as my PC is also connected to an old Sony 2.1 sound system which works well. From metal to blues to synthwave, I was actually able to play any and all kinds of songs.

Life with the new TV
1. Suddenly my time spent in the living room slashed by half simply because the living room is inhospitable for my studying until mom leaves for work in the morning and at night after 9 when the TV show marathon begins and ends around 12am. Till then I am bloody tired and not in the mood to sit with a laptop and keep shuffling files via Google Drive between 2 PCs
2. After the arrival of their TV, playing music on my PC's speakers suddenly turned taboo. Mum and Dad start yelling when even the tiniest of music penetrates their the audio of show they are watching. Sadly, they watch bullshit 9/10 times and it sounds bullshit 10/10 times because of the garbled noise created by combination of becoming music and overly-engineered soundtracks of films and shows. There is screaming, shouting, gasping, sighing and such basic sounds that are the most audible and notwithstanding which AV medium encompasses them, they never sound pleasant and cause my attention to go awry
3. I catch a migraine while trying to study with the TV in the background. Moreover, it makes me increasingly annoyed and agitated.
4. My parents just keep shoving this line - 'Why don't you use the laptop?' For fuck's sake, aren't you the people who got me a slick office chair and created a dedicated computer desk to maximize my productivity in front of my desktop? I don't like using laptops because: a) God has cursed all laptops with shitty battery life that plops off in about 2 hours from 100%, the synaptics touchpad is egregious in comparison to using a mouse, however the orientation of the touchpad and the keyboard makes using the USB attached mouse a nonsensical action because if you are keeping the laptop on your lap, you have to move your entire arm to first grasp the mouse and then use it and switch back to the keyboard which is not the case with desktop PCs as your mouse is right beside your PC. b) I have to zoom nearly everything on it because of absolutely shitty windows font rendering in HD displays and zooming causes really annoying issues because you have to keep doing the same boilerplate algorithm of zooming in, zooming out, ensuring that you scroll down without yawing and hitting the edge of the document viewport which does not fit the screen. c) I hate the entanglements of wires that is caused by the laptop charger. d) It is generally uncomfortable to sit with a laptop in the bed in contrast to a well-built office chair. d) My PC has a mechanical keyboard with a 1600x900 screen which is comfortably large for me. I will always prefer my PC than the laptop.

So this morning, an argument ensued on this topic and in anger, I pulled the HD cable out of the port of the smart TV which evoked a ludicrously effusive reaction from mother at which point I screamed at all of them for being dumbfucks sitting in front of idiot boxes and becoming slobby and fat. And yes, both of them have become fat after watching Netflix and Prime excessively. They don't go to parks on holidays and they don't go out. They just sit in front of that motherfucker of a TV and sod their arse watching the same hackneyed shit Netflix and Prime has to offer. I don't know or understand why they don't get tired of TV shows and films because I hit my tolerance point early this year and abandoned watching TV shows altogether by substituting them for books and music which has worked beautifuly well and is working beautifully well as I am shutting at least one book in a week's span.

 

[Hadoblado]

This stuff can be difficult because of how trapping it can be, but you'll need to learn to handle it differently especially if you move out from your parents.

The good news is that housemates tend to have a more equitable power dynamic once you've established a good thing.

In the meantime, get some headphones and block them out with https://mynoise.net/. Focus on what you do have control of. You might be able to negotiate with them as well if you can keep a cool head.

 

[birdsnestfern]

I don't know, I think a new rule needs to be set about noise. Write something and leave it on the kitchen table, something like "Please, in a shared house, be respectful of this rule about noise. Anything noisy from a tv or computer or music should only be done for 2 hours at a time, max, and only between the hours of 10am and 8pm. Otherwise, please use headphones, thank you". Set up a reasonable rule that everyone can respect so you don't go crazy. Maybe move the tv to a wall that isn't right next to you too. Metaphysically, you can spin a pendulum counter clockwise until it dissolves all those energy leaks for you in your space. Also, visualize a pyramid of protection and set an intention such as 'this space is free of all interferences to my peace of mind'. This works well when you can't sleep, visualize a pyramid over yourself and set an intention outloud. This pyramid will allow safe, peaceful nights rest, or allow me to study and concentrate, whatever you need. I like to think of a copper pyramid and I'm inside and it really works to let me sleep.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Wait... so you allowed your parents to get fat and distance themselves from you to the point where they became braindead zombies? Am I to understand that you just stood there and watched as your family stops communicating, grows ever fatter and dumber and more addicted to TV?

If I saw my mom getting fat I would put a password on the smart TV and have her post pictures of proof that she did the agreed 6 kilometers on an exercise bike before giving her the password. I would probably also make a huge drama of the fact that my parents are not talking to me like they used to just to make them feel guilty whenever they sit to watch TV. I would go up to them and start talking while standing in front of the TV screen and would guilt trip them into oblivion if they told me to move


Solution:
1. log in to the internet router,
2. change the admin password
3. block the IP address and port that your smart TV uses to access netflix during the hours that you want to study or hang out with your parents
4. break the factory reset switch so that nobody can factory reset your router

bonus trick:
If your router can allocate bandwidth then simply allocate so little download bandwidth to the MAC address of the TV that their Netflix gets impossibly slow. It's better than completely blocking the service because they will suspect that the problem lies with Netflix.

If your parents aren't tech savvy then they won't ever diagnose the problem. And you absolutely need to start a daily reeducation campaign on the dangers of TV, you need to indoctrinate them a little against using TV. I'd personally be as obnoxious as possible, mentioning how TV is bad for the family and health every time I saw them. It's all in good faith after all

 

[BurnedOut]

Good news y'all. In a surprising turn of events dad decided to cancel the subscription for Netflix/Amazon Prime. If that does not happen, I succeeded in setting a rule that no TV is allowed to be played post 11pm. Moreover, I am getting my laptop's new battery tomorrow. I just realized that I cannot keep screaming my head off.

@Glaerhaidh I actually threatened mother with the exact thing you said.

 

[birdsnestfern]

Yay! : )

 

[onesteptwostep]

Without being invasive the only thing I'd suggest is go to your local library or to a college library. When I have time to spare I go to a cafe and read books or write on my laptop. Home is mostly sleep, food and the occasional gaming or guitar playing.

 

[Hadoblado]

Wtf you people are insane (except onestep).

I mean... it's worked out I guess...

 

[Rook]

Redneck Rook's Fun international Stereotype Tyme!

Wait... so you allowed your parents to get fat and distance themselves from you to the point where they became braindead zombies? Am I to understand that you just stood there and watched as your family stops communicating, grows ever fatter and dumber and more addicted to TV?

Aaaamuricahhh fuuuuck yeeeeh!

If I saw my mom getting fat I would put a password on the smart TV and have her post pictures of proof that she did the agreed 6 kilometers on an exercise bike before giving her the password. I would probably also make a huge drama of the fact that my parents are not talking to me like they used to just to make them feel guilty whenever they sit to watch TV. I would go up to them and start talking while standing in front of the TV screen and would guilt trip them into oblivion if they told me to move

Europe

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Good news y'all. In a surprising turn of events dad decided to cancel the subscription for Netflix/Amazon Prime. If that does not happen, I succeeded in setting a rule that no TV is allowed to be played post 11pm. Moreover, I am getting my laptop's new battery tomorrow. I just realized that I cannot keep screaming my head off.

@Glaerhaidh I actually threatened mother with the exact thing you said.

Glad it worked . The fight is not over though, they can revert into TV zombies at any point. You should think about replacing their TV routine with something else, preferably an activity that helps their brains.

For me, I started playing board games whenever I visit my parents and it's good background activity for socializing, but also lets them use their brains for thinking which prevents amnesia and all the senile issues that older people get. I also keep explaining that their brains will decay if they don't use them so they need to give them some work and that influenced my mom to start learning new languages which is great for keeping your brain sharp as you age.

I don't think there's anything insane or unethical in influencing people to live better lives as long as they enjoy the results. People have all the freedom in the world, can become anything they want and despite that most of them choose to become inactive shits (the choice is further influenced by the addictive passive environment). Those people need some help to break out of their vegetative state.