Netflix and Chill

About

Netflix and Chill, often seen written as ''I thought you said Netflix and Chill!'' or "20 Minutes into Netflix and Chill", is Internet slang for inviting someone over to one's home for sexual purposes. The phrase is often used in image macros and as a hashtag on social media.

Origin

The phrase first started appearing online in late 2014, mostly through Black Twitter. On October 8th, 2014, Twitter user @itsIsaaaaaaac posted the tweet "Netflix and chill never means Netflix and chill now a days lol" (shown below).

Spread

On November 14th, 2014, Twitter user Start3rPack posted a "the Netflix and Chill Starter Pack" featuring four photographs indicating the pack would contain comfortable socks, pajamas, and a Trojan magnum condom. The tweet received 44 retweets and 56 favorites.^[1]

The phrase was first defined on Urban Dictionary in April of 2015, and was defined twice more in August of that year; the top-rated definition has 6575 upvotes and 3148 downvotes as of August 21st, 2015.^[2] Netflix and Chill has been used more than 430,000 times on Twitter during the span of July 22nd – August 21st, 2015, indicating a widespread colloquial acceptance of the meaning.^[3]

A Facebook community called Netflix and Chill was created on June 9th, 2015, and is primarily used to repost image macros and Twitter memes using the phrase; it has more than 4,000 members as of August 2015.^[4] There are 10 posts on the subreddit /r/blackpeopletwitter using the phrase which have more than 1,000 upvotes; the top ranking post was submitted June 1st, 2015 and has 4,489 points (93% upvoted).^[5][6] On July 22nd, 2015, the @netflix Twitter feed posted a tweet referencing the expression, featuring an animated GIF from the 1995 comedy film Clueless (shown below).

In August, the mass media began reporting on the trend, with pieces in Yahoo News UK and News.Com.Au.^[11][12] In addition, on August 10th, 2015, the web site Huzlers posted a false article claiming that a woman had sued Netflix after her child had become pregnant during a Netflix and Chill date.^[9] The story was reposted widely as truth and was debunked by Snopes on the same day it was created.^[10]

On September 27th, Redditor vrpowerll2000 posted a Netflix and chill-themed Tinder profile picture, in which he is shown wearing a Netflix shirt while holding a bag of ice (shown below). Within 48 hours, the post gained over 5,100 votes (94% upvoted) and 1,100 comments on /r/funny.^[16]

The Netflix Switch

At the 2015 World Maker Faire, Netflix unveiled the "Netflix Switch" DIY project made out of a Particle Core microcontroller, a smart TV with a Netflix app and a custom-built housing. After being assembled, the switch dims lights, silences a connected smart phone and turns on the Netflix app on a connected television. In the coming days, several news sites reported on the switch as a "Netflix and chill button," including Engadget,^[13] The Verge^[14] and Gizmodo.^[15]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References