Binging on Netflix is a great way to catch up on shows, distract yourself from reality, or relax. The interesting part is that they have created an absentminded compulsion to our lives. Being addicted to television isn't new (nor is being addicted to food or alcohol or gaming). But Netflix makes it so easy. As if the delivery guy has appeared at your door with your food - all the content you could want is there in front of you. All you have to do is press play and immerse yourself into the streaming world.
What began as a convenient and easy option for the viewer has a darker side to it - as any addiction can. Instead of one spending time reading books, enjoying discussions with their friends and family, spending time outdoors, pursuing a passion or hobby - Netflix becomes one's go-to option. It's simply that easy. You walk in the door after a long day of work, traffic, lines at the grocery store and all you want to do is sink into the couch and escape.
Yet, this writer found that after a weekend of binging on a series, it would often feel as if the two days of freedom from work went by too quickly, and there was no value to them. "What did you do this weekend?" is often asked on a Monday morning, around the water cooler, and it's common to hear "I binge-watched a series". It may feel like an accomplishment, initially, especially if the other person has also watched that show. There's a commonality. A feeling of community in it. But are we distracting ourselves too much from reality? Are we missing out on life, because it's simply too easy to fall into the Venus Fly Trap of instandly and constantly available content? Are we becoming robots to the convenience of Netflix, to the point where one may not care what the next offering is that automatically appears - one simply wants it to keep going?
There are many distractions in our modern world to keep us from feeling alone or allow us to escape the world for a few hours. This writer has found that turning off the device, or even using the option of turning off auto-play has done wonders for the brain (to see how click here). Now, I can watch what I choose, without having the next piece of food, or drink, already placed before me. I can get off the couch and go looking for adventure in the real world and return to the make-believe world of Netflix as I choose.
Don't let Netflix make you a robot. Think for yourself. Make your own choices. It can be a hard habit to break, but it's also a necessary one - especially in the coming months with Disney + and other streaming choices making big debuts.
Each year more and more movies and TV shows are produced and funded by Netflix. This year Netflix will more than double what they projected to spend last year on original content, or "A Netflix Original" the term Netflix uses for streaming movies and TV shows they produce in house. That number - over 15 billion dollars - is expected to increase strongly throughout the year.
If this spending patterns holds, what will the future hold? With cable television users decreasing each year and movie theater visitation rates at all time lows, the future of the Entertainment industry is at a crossroads - will Netflix continue to rise and eventually displace Hollywood as the Entertainment capital? Or, will Netflix's spending cool off relegating them to simply being the newest iteration of HBO or Showtime?
Only time will tell. If recent tech history is any lesson in the consumers wars, Netflix is seemingly on the wrong side of the battle because of the distance it creates between the consumer and the creation of new content as Netflix does not allow users to post new content. Instead, for Netflix to have new content to stream they either have to create it or lease it - and in both cases they have to pay for it. And pay they do, with all of Netflix's prodigious income (billions and billions) they still take on debt to pay for things like Friends, Guardian's of the Galaxy, Seinfeld and Star Wars - the content that time after time consumers have shown they want.
Clearly Netflix knows what we want to watch - they have years and years of millions of Americans viewing habits - they know the good, the bad and the ugly of what we want to watch. So, with all this data, why doesn't Netflix show us what we want to watch? Could it be because they want us to watch the content that is cheapest, or least expensive, for Netflix to pay for? Does this create a paradox of costs (and an interesting double standard) as it could be argued that the size of our monthly fee is more about Netflix's corporate decision making then an aid in Netflix's creative expression? If so, is Netflix a creative resource with access to top notch content or just a monthly fee for access to marginalized 'B' content created in house? Again, only time will tell, but something might be festering in Denmark.
More to come ...
When we started NetflixReview.com in 2007 Netflix was an amazing place to get DVD's by mail (remember the tag line - no late fees - ever) and Blockbuster was just beginning to feel the heat from Netflix's success - we were proselytizers for the Netflix way. And what a new way it was - no longer did I have to drive to Blockbuster or my local boutique rental shop for my movie fix, Netflix was amazingly easy to fall in love with and I wanted to spread the love.
Things have changed in the last 13 years. Netflix was a small internet company that was growing fast - now they are an online juggernaut - the 7th largest internet company by revenue. Netflix was a disruptor to the DVD model of "brick & motor store shopping" putting out of business companies like Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Movie Gallery - today Netflix is possibly becoming a disruptive force to Hollywood and the entire film producing industry.
Our discourse will review Netflix's impact on American culture and the entertainment industry as a whole. We welcome your comments, views and opinions - even Netflix, Netflix employees and former employee's may write in with their views.
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