According to Digital Marketing Ramblings, a site that tracks digital statistics, facts and trends of various media, Netflix has 56 million subscribers worldwide. Cumulatively, these viewers watch more than one billion hours of their respective shows or movies per month. Looking at those statistics, the reason for late homework and poor grades may be obvious.

As an avid watcher of Netflix, I can say there have been many nights of  that “just one more episode” mentality before getting homework done for the next morning. Created in 1997, Netflix has skyrocketed to the top tier of digital entertainment. Offering gobs of mind-numbing movies and TV shows, it has become the perfect entertainment source for many people worldwide.

It seems that teachers often talk among themselves about why students will not turn in homework on time, do projects or complete online activities. Assumptions lean toward video games, texting and pure procrastination, but one factor that is prevalent in many high school students’ lives often seems to be left out: Netflix.

I would go out on a limb and present Netflix as a digital drug. Once a viewer is hooked on a show, good luck pulling them away.

Trinity’s Advanced Program counselor Dr. Aaron Striegel said about students and Netflix: “It’s okay to take a break and watch something, but with anything, you have to do it in moderation.”

Taking in over $53 million in quarter one of 2014, Netflix has created a product that fits right into the “working man or woman’s schedule.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a quarter of Americans work 49 hours a week. With copious amounts of homework, sports and extracurriculars, the average high school student’s schedule is not much easier. Netflix provides these men, women — and students — with a way to watch their favorite shows whenever time allows.

Trends have shown that the world moves faster. Everything is being created to run more efficiently. Innovations are more compact. Even phrases are shortened to make them easier to say. By keeping ahead of the game, Netflix has served as a source of entertainment where everything is time efficient. None of the shows or movies have to be returned, it never closes, and it certainly never runs out of content.

As Striegel said, with the amount of work people have in this day and age, a break is necessary for the brain to decompress.  But the real question is this: Is it too easy for students and working men and women to access entertainment that often hinders the work they need to be doing?

Trinity junior Daniel Bird said, “I would often watch Netflix for a few hours every day, which would affect my schoolwork.”

“I’ll watch Netflix any time. It really doesn’t matter what time,” Trinity senior Nick Brislin said.

From personal experience, I see Netflix becoming a problem when a student gets hooked by a show, and they consciously decide to watch that show instead of getting work done.

The best way to limit procrastination in any form is by following a schedule. The schedule does not have to be a formal list of activities, but it should be a general idea of when certain things will be finished and started.

By creating this visual time-management tool, you can limit how much “Breaking Bad,” “How I Met Your Mother” and “Arrested Development” get into your life.