Websites like Netflix and Hulu have completely altered the way we watch television. Before all the possibilities for streaming, if you missed the episode of your show that week, you just had to watch the recap next week in hopes of understanding what happened, or maybe ask a friend for the plot.

But online streaming can’t be good for companies who pay for television advertising. Why would people sit through all those advertisements when you can just wait until the next day and catch up on what you missed? I know some people who wait for the season to end so they can watch the entire season all at once.

Instead of getting one episode every week, there’s the potential to watch an entire season in one day. It’s called binge watching, and it seems to have drastically changed the TV viewing experience. You might find yourself even more invested in the characters’ lives, due to taking in so much of them in such a short window of time.

Binge watching TV shows can come with some pretty rough side effects though, especially if there are a lot of episodes. You might find yourself overly invested in the plot. Or you might stay up far later than usual, because something really exciting just happened and you can’t stop there; you have to know what happens next! Stupid cliffhangers.

A couple weeks ago, I decided that I needed a distraction and Netflix suggested that I watch “Friends.” It’s not exactly a new show, but it seemed like the perfect option. It was something I watched a lot of growing up, but I never really focused on the overall storyline.

I managed to watch every episode in under two weeks. Every second of my free time was spent watching that show. OK, that’s not exactly something to put on a resume, but I was a little impressed with myself.

I’m not even going to calculate how many hours it takes to watch 10 seasons of “Friends” because it will only lead to me feeling really gross. If you are curious though, the website Tiii.me, will calculate the hours of television shows for you.

There’s always a bitter, empty feeling when you finish the final episode of a show you binged on. However, it’s still not as bad as getting completely invested in a show and then discovering it got canceled and went off the air without an ending.

Then there are the shows you know you should watch, but they sound like a lot of effort. I’ve tried — I’ve tried so hard — to watch “Game of Thrones,” but getting invested is a challenge. Then there are shows like “Heroes,” that start out amazing but near the end they just fall apart.

I watched “Heroes” when it first aired and tried again when they announced “Heroes Reborn,” but I still didn’t get through the final season.

While there are some downsides to binge watching, I still personally believe that it’s the best way to get the full experience. It’s a lot easier to get emotionally invested in a show if it’s all you’re watching for a couple days.