I still don’t even know if “Stranger Things” is good

Four episodes into “Stranger Things” and I’m already upset that by the week’s end, I’ll be stuck not-so-patiently waiting for a second season.

Netflix binge-watching is essentially a national pastime now for us college 20-somethings who don’t particularly enjoy things like going out, or being productive, or other people. So when a certain show catches fire on Netflix, we tend to dust off our fear-of-missing-out-on hats and plow through it. It’s like the funny Youtube video your friends are all talking about, only that video happens to be like 12 hours long and you risk having the finale spoiled for you if you don’t make time to watch every second of it by your first class Monday morning.

“Stranger Things” may be the flavor of the week, but is only the latest in an impressive string of shows that some mysterious, nameless, faceless consensus decided is must-watch television. Netflix shows and Youtube videos both have this explosive potential to go viral, without much of a common thread tying them all together.

Why is “Stranger Things” awesome? I’m halfway through it and I still have no idea. It’s like a “Goonies”/”Signs”/police procedural crossover with all the teen angst of the very worst “One Tree Hill” episodes. But it still sucks you in, which begs an important question — would “Stranger Things” be nearly as interesting if nobody you knew watched it? Or is it just fun knowing tomorrow in Creative Arts you’ll be able to talk to your neighbor about how Nancy is kind of a terrible human being?

Does a show that relies so much on hype really merit entire evenings spent putting off homework just two weeks into the school year?

Obviously there’s some precedence for this particular phenomenon. Remember when “Orange is the New Black” dropped and all of Logan fell to like half its normal population? People weren’t out of town for the warm summer months, they were locked in their tiny Oakridge bedrooms learning all about the racial dynamics of women’s prisons and adding “Piper” to their list of potential baby names.

“Making a Murderer,” “Game of Thrones” and the king of all roommate-swallowing Netflix shows, “Breaking Bad,” all have some intoxicating quality that urges students with essays due in the morning to watch eight straight episodes and forget about the days when 3 a.m. was a myth — not a regular bedtime.

While it’s fun to ride the “Stranger Things” wave and be a part of the conversation while it’s still in the spotlight, staying a step ahead of spoiler news has a price — we’re all going to have to wait until sometime next year to get a second season, and the first season wasn’t exactly long to begin with.

I guess in the meantime, we can always check out those shows we know have been sitting on our personalized list for over a year. You know exactly what I mean. If ever there was a time to start wading through all 13 seasons of “NCIS,” it’s now. Thirteen seasons! Isn’t that great? I wonder where Tony and Cate’s story arc is headed — they seem so right for each other. You can probably find out between now and the time it’ll take to get a ninth episode of “Stranger Things.”

Maybe you can check out what I’m sure is a satisfying ending to “How I Met Your Mother,” or finally get around to that last season of “Scrubs” you’ve been saving for a rainy day. With so many options online now, I’m sure there’s plenty of satisfying binge-worthy material out there to hold us all over — or at least give us time to figure out whether we actually like the show or not.