Netflix and Chill.” It’s the craze everyone’s been talking about. Yik Yak blows up with proposals for it every day. Spotify has even created a “Netflix & Chill” playlist, full of everyone’s favorite smooth R&B sounds. Memes galore depict the truth behind the mask. In case you haven’t heard the phrase, or need a refresher, “Netflix and Chill” is a euphemism for hooking up. And it’s really the closest thing we have to a formal date these days.
So where did this highly modern phraseology come from? Kevin Roose from the online publication, “Fusion” traces the origins of the innuendo back to the summer of 2014, when teenage girls found that boy’s intentions to “Netflix and chill” were not always so pure, and began to warn each other. In November of the same year, the expression became formally enshrined as a meme when a “Netflix and chill starter pack” hit the social media scene.
An odd concept indeed, “Netflix and Chill” could simply be chalked up to the ridiculousness of our generation. Or it could hint towards a larger trend about how we communicate, or more acurately, how we don’t communicate. This lack of candor is evident in the question itself. “Do you want to ‘Netflix and chill’?” means “do you want to hook up?” but that’s not what it says. Back in 2014, the year Roose claims we began to realize the undertone of the proposition, explicitly proves its witheld implication. The thing that is being said is not the thing that is meant, and therin lays the tell-tale sign of miscommunication.
Even if both parties are in on the lingo, the act of “Netflix and chilling” is a highly impersonal one.
Imagine this: you go to his dorm in your chillest getup, hair in a messy bun, makeup like you’re not wearing any. He has cheap beer and weed at the ready. The Netflix logo pops up and its all too obvious, you’re in the midst of a “Netflix and chill” sesh.
What follows is open ended, but the fact is, hardly any words are exchanged, because they really don’t need to be. Sure, you’re alone rather than in a sweaty frat basement. And the potential is there for conversation, to really get to know each other. But the screen is a perfect excuse to avoid the prospect of communication, the thing many of us teens seem to lack the skills for.
The real meaning of “Netflix and Chill” has become so transparent it’s impossible to say coyly; in fact it has become almost laughable. The act shows just how willing we are to be with people, without really being present. It’s something we’re all guilty of. As easy as it may be to hit play on Arrested Development until the clothes start coming off, it may be more worthwhile to experience a greater sense of personal interaction.
Sources: http://fusion.net/story/200012/netflix-and-chill-means-sex-spotify-playlist/