Australians’ disgusting Netflix habit

AUSTRALIANS love a good binge. But we can all agree that there is a time and place for it and this certainly isn’t it.

WHEN it comes to using our smartphones on the dunny, it’s a losing battle.

Depending on which study you quote, anywhere between 14 per cent and 41 per cent of Australians regularly use their phone while they’re doing the business, more likely if you’re younger.

It’s one thing to clutch on to your phone in the privacy of your own loo — fine, whatever, if you have to, you have to — but to sit among the filth and grime of a public toilet, watching a movie on your phone? What the hell are you thinking? Gross.

Some eight per cent of Australians are streaming Netflix while in a public bathroom, according to a new study by the streaming giant. Chances are, you know a few.

The rate of Aussies committing this heinous crime against hygiene is even higher than the global average, which is at seven per cent.

It’s not like Australia is overflowing with fancy loos with fresh flowers and underpaid bathroom attendants. You’ve hit the jackpot if you can walk into a public bathroom and not have to breathe through your mouth.

The stat comes from a stack of numbers Netflix has that shows Australians are bingeing more in public than before. Fifty-nine per cent of streamers have taken their entertainment on the go.

More than a third of streaming Australians are now watching Netflix on their daily commute. Of those that do, they rate having access to video content on their commute more important than food or water.

Look, food we understand, seeing you can’t (and shouldn’t) eat on the train but if you’ve ever been stuck in an un-airconditioned, sweltering carriage, water is kind of more important — you can’t watch anything if you’ve passed out from dehydration.

One in five streaming Australians have reported “show shame” about what they watch in public, worried about attracting judgment and scorn from those peeking over their shoulder.

And if you’re the person bingeing Pretty Little Liars on the 5.16 express train to Hornsby, expect to be (rightly) judged. But know, despite your predilection for trashy melodrama, you’re still a better human than the person who’s bingeing in a public toilet.

Of course, the worst levels of hell are reserved for those who watch Pretty Little Liars in a public toilet. There is no redemption.

Originally published as Australians’ disgusting Netflix habit