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After some texting back and forth, the date is planned. Your match has invited you for an evening of Netflix. Next Friday, you will meet at the other person’s house. You are excited because you have been flirting digitally for a while. That is why you immediately text your friend: ‘ Excited ! We have arranged a Netflix and chill for Friday’. You enthusiastically tell them about the evening of watching Netflix and how much you are looking forward to it. But the response to your text is not what you expected and that makes you wonder what is going on.
“You know what ‘Netflix and chill’ means, right?!” the message says. You blush with embarrassment as you realize you might have missed something. You’re surprised and unsure of what to do next. And worse, you’re not even sure what ‘Netflix and chill’ means. Which makes you wonder: what does ‘Netflix and chill’ even mean?
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Wat is ‘Netflix and chill’?
If you take the expression literally, ‘Netflix and chill’ means nothing more or less than a quiet evening watching movies or series via the popular streaming service Netflix. What still not everyone knows is that this world-famous concept has a second meaning.
In common parlance, ‘Netflix and chill‘ is synonymous with a meeting for sex. Besides being an invitation to watch Netflix together on the couch, it can also mean a sex date . Depending on the context and who asks you, it can mean ‘watching Netflix’ or ‘casual sex’.
That the expression can have a sexual connotation is not known to everyone. Not everyone is aware of the second meaning and that leads to hilarious situations. For example, Albert Heijn’s Allerhande shared recipe ideas for an evening of ‘Netflix & Chill’, not knowing that the expression also means something else.
“A cozy evening on the couch could use some comfort food. That’s why we’ve selected dishes especially for you that are ideal during a Netflix marathon,” the magazine said.
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Dating with Netflix
Are you being asked to Netflix and chill ? Ask yourself if the person has been living under a rock and doesn’t know the pronunciation, or if you’re being invited to come over for sex. Distinguishing between the two can be tricky. Usually, the context of the conversation and the manner in which the invitation is made is a good indicator.
If the invitation is clearly sexual in nature and there are sexual hints about what might happen after watching Netflix, chances are it’s not just about watching movies. For example, if you get the proposal on Tinder from someone you’ve only just matched with, it’s clear what’s meant.
If the invitation is more friendly and there are no suggestive comments, it is more likely that it will actually be about watching Netflix together. After all, a night of Netflix as a second date is not such a bad idea to get to know each other better.
Are you in doubt? Generally speaking, you can assume that most people are familiar with the expression. As a rule, it is about sex and nothing else – with or without Netflix as a starter. Here is how the meaning of ‘Netflix and chill’ has changed over the years:
- 2009: “I can’t wait to curl up on the couch for a night of Netflix and chill.”
- 2014: “Do you want to come over for an evening of Netflix and “chill”? ;)”
- 2018: “He says he’s in love but I think he just wants to Netflix and chill.”
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Where is it from?
The first mention of the term ‘Netflix and chill’ dates back to 2009. A Twitter user named ‘NoFaceNina’ tweeted the following message: “I’m about to log onto Netflix and chill for the rest of the night.”
I’m about to log onto Netflix and chill for the rest of the night.
— NoFaceNina (@nofacenina) January 22, 2009
This status update is not about sex. It’s just about watching movies or shows on Netflix for the rest of the evening – probably alone. Twitter was the first medium to use the phrase. Soon after, other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Vine followed. The innocent use of the phrase ‘Netflix and chill’ changed as the streaming service became more popular.
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The rise of the expression
Somewhere in 2014, the first reports came in with a variation on the popular term, only with quotation marks: Netflix and ‘chill’. However, ‘chill’ did not mean chilling, but a reference to sex. Less than a year later, the innocent term became code language for casual sex. In 2015, ‘Netflix and chill’ became generally known as more than just a night of watching movies – it had become synonymous with a sex date.
In a year, “Netflix and chill” became slang for casual sex. Here’s the trend of “Netflix and chill” searches on Google, including the spike in 2015.
In 2015, “Netflix and chill” was also added to the Urban Dictionary , further increasing the term’s power. The definition of the “Netflix and chill” phrase, written by user LaxBuhl7: “Code for two people who go to each other’s houses to have sex or engage in sex-related acts.” The example given:
- Brad: “Hey Julia wanna come over and watch Netflix and chill”
- Julia: “Sure I’ll pick up the condoms”
- Brad: “Wait I thought we were just gonna watch Netflix and chill?”
- Julia: “Netflix and Chill means we fuck, dumbass”
For Netflix, the phrase was a powerful advertising stunt, as the virality of the phrase further increased Netflix’s brand awareness. That same year, Netflix finally responded on the company’s official Tumbler page. Netflix posted the following message on the Tumbler page :
Netflix on Tumblr
Netflix and chill. No, really.
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Why was it used?
The phrase ‘Netflix and chill’ became popular because it suggests in a funny and relatively harmless way that there is more to it than just watching Netflix. Initially, it started as more of a meme on social media and then the term quickly spread through the internet, especially among young people.
For young people, “Netflix and chill” was the perfect code to fool parents who were secretly checking their messages. If you’re 16 and your parents read that you’re planning an evening of Netflix and chill with a girlfriend, no parent is going to freak out. All they expect is an innocent group of people watching the latest season of “Stranger Things” from the couch.
The rise of streaming services like Netflix also played a role in this. Thanks to Netflix, it was easier to watch a movie or series without leaving the house, which made the idea of an intimate stay-at-home date more appealing. So while it started out as a kind of funny expression, ‘Netflix and chill’ has come to mean more than just a funny pun.
Unfortunately, parents soon realized that the real meaning was something completely different. With all the media attention the expression received, there was no escaping it. Now, when we talk about Netflix and chill , everyone assumes the meaning is familiar. It is an indirect way of asking someone for a sex date – casual dating with or without watching TV.
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