It is 2 am. You told yourself you would be in bed an hour ago. The credits roll, the next episode begins in five seconds, and somehow you are still glued to the couch. The phrase “just one more episode” has become the background music of our streaming age, a habit that feels almost automatic, and the numbers behind it are staggering.

The Sheer Scale of Our Watching

Netflix now has about 301.6 million subscribersworldwide. The company reports that the typical subscriber spends roughly two hours a day watching. That adds up to more than 603 million hours streamed every single day. Put another way, that is almost 69,000 years of content consumed in twenty-four hours.

Amazon’s Prime Video, with 200 million subscribers, is quieter about its viewing figures. Even with a conservative assumption of one hour per user per day, Prime racks up about 200 million viewing hours daily. Hulu, which has around 55 million subscribers, contributes another 55 million hours each day. Together, these three platforms alone account for nearly 858 million hours of streaming every day. And this is before counting Disney+, Apple TV+, YouTube, and the dozens of regional platforms competing for attention.

Africa’s Growing Share

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In Africa, the story has a different shape but it is no less important. The subscription video-on-demand market here is projected to reach about $3.04 billion in 2025. Netflix in Sub-Saharan Africa currently serves about 4.5 million subscribers, a small share of its global base but one that is steadily increasing as internet access expands and mobile-friendly pricing takes hold.

Average viewing times on the continent are likely lower than in Europe or North America because of data costs, variable connectivity, and shared accounts. Using a conservative estimate of one hour per user per day, Netflix in Sub-Saharan Africa would generate 4.5 million hours of viewing daily. Across all platforms in Africa, daily streaming likely falls somewhere between 10 and 40 million hours, depending on the exact number of subscribers and how much they watch. While that is still a small slice of global streaming totals, the growth is undeniable.

The Psychology of “Just One More”

Why do we keep watching? Researchers describe something called narrative transportation. This is the process by which a story draws a viewer into its world so completely that stopping feels like leaving a conversation unfinished. Cliffhangers at the end of episodes act as small psychological triggers. They create curiosity and a need for resolution that can be satisfied with just a little more viewing.

Autoplay features make it easier to continue than to stop. Viewers also use binge-watching as a form of escape. For many it is harmless and even restorative. For others it becomes a coping mechanism for loneliness, stress, or boredom. Clinical studies show a complex relationship between heavy binge-watching and mental health. Extended, repeated viewing has been associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and disrupted sleep. Research often finds average binge sessions to be around two hours and ten minutes. For dedicated binge-watchers, however, sessions can extend past four hours. Late-night watching reduces sleep and can worsen mood the next day, creating a cycle that reinforces the habit.

The Cost of Compulsion

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It is easy to treat binge-watching as just another entertainment choice. Yet the sheer scale of the habit shows that it is something more. We are reorganizing our evenings, our social time, and even our sleep around serialized stories. The platforms understand this. Every design feature, from the “Next Episode” countdown to personalized suggestions, is meant to make continuing feel effortless.

Africa’s share of streaming hours is modest for now, but it is rising quickly. As internet access improves and local storytelling flourishes, the same hooks that keep audiences in New York or Paris awake past midnight will be just as effective in Lagos or Nairobi. The continent’s streaming future is being built right now, and with it comes a chance to shape a viewing culture that values balance as much as immersion.

If the words “just one more episode” sound familiar, you are part of a global story. Nearly a billion hours of streaming each day are consumed on just a handful of services. The real question is not whether binge-watching is good or bad. The question is whether we are making the choice ourselves, or whether the platforms have learned to make it for us.

But there is another danger quietly woven into all this screen time: escapism without end. When digital media becomes a constant retreat, it can dull our connection to real-world experiences, responsibilities, and relationships. 

Fantasy worlds begin to feel more comfortable than the real one, especially when the real one feels uncertain or overwhelming. 

There is nothing wrong with a well-told story. But when stories replace rather than reflect life, we risk losing the ability to sit with boredom, face discomfort, or act with agency. In building a culture of viewers, we must not forget to remain participants in our own lives.

A Way Forward 

Image Above: Promotional Poster For Severance. Credit: ABC News.

The same desire for escape, comfort, or stimulation can be met in other ways. Some people replace an episode with a walk after dinner, a call to a friend, or a short burst of creative work. 

Others keep a book by the couch so that when an episode ends, the next chapter is something they turn, not something that streams. 

Even small rituals, like brewing tea, journaling, stretching, can break the cycle without feeling like deprivation. The key is not to demonize streaming but to widen the menu of choices. 

If Africa’s streaming culture continues to grow alongside habits of movement, conversation, and offline leisure, then the “just one more episode” impulse will be a preference, not a reflex. And that may be the healthiest plot twist of all.