Australia's obsession with Netflix is making the internet really, really slow.

We had such a good thing going on, Netflix.

Our love affair with Netflix started quickly and passionately when the streaming service graced our fair shores in late March.

Like during most honeymoon phases, we shunned others, preferring to spend quiet Saturday nights in together. We were entertained by all the new stories we heard and the experiences we shared together. (Remember that weekend we watched the entire season three of Orange is the New Black? Ah, good times.)

But, after a couple of weeks, the shiny newness wore off and those niggling habits we barely noticed in the beginning became frustrating minor annoyances.

Now, though… now, we are screaming bloody murder and questioning if we will get through this rocky time with you, Netflix.

BECAUSE WHY IS MY INTERNET SO DAMN SLOW AT NIGHT?!

Aussie internet users have taken to social media sites to vent their increasing frustration at online congestion, with many claiming the streaming giant’s popularity has slowed their internet connection speeds during peak times.

Reddit users say their internet speeds – across a range of providers – took a massive nosedive between the hours of around 5pm and 11.30pm (peak Netflix watching time) the week Netflix launched in Australia.

“Welcome to the future. Where your content is more expensive to watch and your speed is egregiously slow,” Ardinius writes.

Related: 20 really dumb questions about NETFLIX. Answered.

“Took me about 6 weeks to get Internode to confirm from Optus that the exchange is at capacity and that there is no immediate plans to upgrade the exchange. I can cancel my contract with no exit fee, but signing up with someone else is going to see the same congestion anyway,” the defeated Littlegreenrock says.

Telstra spokesman Steve Carey told Mamamia that the internet network is like any other piece of infrastructure – if everyone tries to use it at the same time, it can become congested.

“The growth in video streaming has placed more demand on internet networks and some providers have stood up to the challenge better than others.  We have invested in extra capacity in our network so our customers can enjoy video streaming and we have positive feedback from customers on the performance of our network.

There’s a long delivery chain between an online content provider and a consumer’s device in their home.  If someone is experiencing problems with their service, it could be an issue with their device, wiring or modem, or they might just have too many people in their house trying to all watch videos on the same connection at the same time. There could also be issues of network congestion, or with the content provider.”

OK, SO WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT IT?

Netflix reckons our internet service providers don’t offer us sufficiently fast speeds, according to Lifehacker.

It said Australia ranked 18th out of the 29 countries the service measures for speed.

“Performance for Australian ISPs was impacted by consumer demand exceeding the forecasts Netflix provided,” a spokesperson for the company said.

“We are working closely with these ISPs and expect performance to improve in the coming months.”

OK, Netflix, let’s not give up on us yet. I think we can work things out.

In the meantime, some things that may improve your internet speed include making sure you have the latest modem, limiting the number of people in your home using the internet at the same time and making sure the wifi modem is in the optimal location.

Or I guess you could just wait ‘til the NBN roll out is complete in another SIX YEARS…

*sigh*

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