| According to sociologists, the trend of staying home to | | | | home movies! |
| watch rented movies, concerts and other multimedia | | | | Today, the Cocoon syndrome is stronger than ever. |
| offerings started in the eighties in the United States, | | | | With the emergence of DVD and video game rentals |
| specifically. The US was the bulwark of entertainment | | | | online, people no longer find any reason to actually |
| because of Hollywood and countless small cinematic | | | | venture out of their homes in search for entertainment. |
| outfits; there was never a shortage for new movies. | | | | Coupled with the global recession and scarcity of good |
| People responded to the large supply of movies, | | | | money-making opportunities, it seems that renting |
| accordingly. Sociologists even coined a term for the | | | | DVDs is becoming a more practical alternative to |
| phenomenon when it was first observed before the | | | | burning even more cash and credit for |
| 90s rolled into place: Cocooning. | | | | “entertainment expenses”. |
| Instead of going out on Friday nights to socialize, drink | | | | Not to mention that the Internet has provided a |
| or just generally have a good time, thirty-something | | | | growing number of users, both young and old, a way |
| folks of that generation began to settle indoors more. | | | | to watch and download whatever they wish in the |
| They rented video cassettes (usually three times a | | | | comfort and privacy of their own homes. This trend |
| week) and just stayed home. Cocooners were literally | | | | has set the stage for future generation to cocoon |
| glued to their living rooms, comfortably enthroned on | | | | themselves even more indoors with little or no visits to |
| their soft couches. By 1985, Americans had already | | | | the outside of their own commuinity. |
| spent a whopping 1.7 billion dollars on renting or buying | | | | |