Humans have been keeping animals as pets for thousands of years and our fascination with sharing our home with a furry (or hairy, or scaly, or feathered) friend is an ingrained part of society. Establishments like cat cafes and doggy daycare are testament to the fact that we just can’t get enough of our pets!
According to a new survey releasd by Netflix, our love of pets is infiltrating our entertainment habits too. In fact, when it comes to watching TV, 48% of Kiwis say that the best binge partner is their pet!
New study reveals pets to be the best binge paw-tner
When the outside world just needs to be put on hold for a while, a lot of us love to plonk ourselves in front of a screen and enjoy some downtime with our favourite shows or movies. So what makes our pets the best bingeing buddies?
- They never cheat on your bingeing! Ever been sharing a TV show with your bestie and they go and watch a few episodes ahead? Spoiler alert!
- With the occasional exception of a stray paw, they don’t hog the remote.
- They don’t judge your enertainment tastes. If I want to watch Fuller House I will watch Fuller House and never a “why are you watching THIS?!” is uttered.
- They don’t talk during the good bits (though they seem to have a habit of needing something during those emotional, tense or plot-twist parts!).
- They don’t ask you to explain the plot or fill in the episodes they missed. Though they are also unable to explain the plot when you get a little lost!
The survey revealed that 30% of Kiwis have turned to their furry friends for comfort during a sad or scary scene while 21% have talked to their pet about the show or movie they were watching.
The downside of viewing with your pet
Binge watching with your pet does have it’s downside though. Nearly half of respondents (48%) said that they had moved where they were sitting because their pet was claiming too much of the couch.
What to watch with your pet
The survey revealed that dog owners are more likely to choose action and adventure like Marvel’s Daredevil and cat owners prefer comedy series like Orange is the New Black. The one show that brings all streaming species together … Stranger Things.
The survey was conducted by SurveyMonkey from January 9-25, 2018 and based on more than 50,000 responses. The sample is representative of an adult online population who watch Netflix with their pets in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, USA, UK.
What do you watch with your furry friend? Join the discussion in the comments below.
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Haha too cute and funny! I usually watch telly with my cat because it’s often when everyone is out of house, kids at school, husband at work, and then it’s my time to do not a lot!
This is just a funny article that I even shared to my husband that I probably need to switch Netflix partners (sorry, hubs, it’s time) and find myself a pet. Still, I prefer someone who I can discuss key things that I might’ve missed or didn’t just get — especially those weird sci-fi or suspense dramas.
Haha this is funny as when I sit down to watch something this is exactly what happens the cats take over the couch and want attention so I end up moving as I’m trying to concentrate on watching the tv but I do love them being with me right now the cat is sitting on my feet funny things they are.
We have cats and they will curl up beside us and sit with us while watching TV but never really thought of them watching also haha.
We don’t have any pets at the moment unfortunately – due to living in an apartment in the middle of town, it wouldn’t be fair to have an animal (looking at getting some fish though!). Once we move into a house in a year or so we are going to get a little dog as our 5 year old really would love a pet 🙂
I wish my cat would hang on the couch with me and watch TV. She just doesn’t. Maybe once it’s winter! This list though highlights all the good reasons to watch with her though – she’ll never judge me for the things I like
Haha this is adorable! I love watching tv with my cat snuggled up next to/on me. I can definitely relate to the fact that he steals where I want to sit though! I couldn’t honestly say he has a particular show preference as the only waking time he has in front of the tv is locating a comfy spot to take over and then he’s out for the count 😛