What else can technology bring us?
Yes, we all know that Internet is the greatest creation, a phenomenal achievement.
However, how could I forget the days I used to go to Blockbuster to rent a movie I wanted watch, I waited until the movie was available or the long lines I used to do to pay for it. Well all those moments are gone with the introduction of Netflix's unlimited streaming service, an American provider of on-demand Internet streaming media and over 26 million subscribers worldwide.
This service let us watch countless movies, documentaries, or TV shows whenever we want; even more, watch them as many times we want to. As a matter of fact, once you become member, you can have access to this service not only from a computer, but also from an Apple TV, tablet, smart phone, video game consoles such as Wii, XBox360, PlayStation 3, even more it could also be streamed on HD television. It's basically like being at the movie theater. As a result, this innovation has been created a horrendous Streaming Syndrome, where people spend endless hours watching their favorite TV shows or movies marathon. In fact, that is pretty much my case, I could spend days, watching "Sons of Anarchy", "Lost" & "Breaking Bad".
Here are some symptoms of this disease:
Insomnia brought on by watching every episode of a compelling series in a row at the expense of getting a good night's sleep.
Anti-social behavior as a result of staying in and making it a "Netflix night" rather than going out in public and seeing other human beings.
A gnawing impatience when you cannot watch what you want to watch when you want to watch it coupled with fits of rage when movies are not available for streaming and you must wait two whole days for an actual disc to arrive in a little red envelope in the mail.
On the other hand, according to CNN, on March 13, 2013 Netflix launched its first Facebook app where subscribers can choose to link their Netflix and Facebook accounts and at the same time friends and family will see the titles of every movie and television show they watch.
In conclusion, if some of you are subscribed to Netflix you might be thinking that it's impossible to get addicted to it, but once you try it, it is very difficult to stop streaming your favorite shows, and for those of you that are not yet subscribed; better be careful.
Do you check your Netflix Queue more than four times per week?
Does your Netflix Queue have more than 200 movies? Do you plan to watch all 200 movies in the next year?
Do you watch the DVD the same day it arrives so you can send it back the next day?
Have you mailed a DVD back to Netflix from another person's house?
Netflix-Facebook,Netflix's questions,Symptoms,
Netflix and other online streaming media would not just continue to control most of our available time, but their control would certainly continue to increase. The continuous increase of broadband Internet availability and usage throughout the world incessantly augments year after year. Something that could negatively affect Netflix’s growth (other than the licensing fees and royalties) is the Internet providers’ business model switch from unlimited usage to pay per use. Most people would possibly reduce their usage of Netflix if it were directly related to the amount they pay for their internet service.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Ospina
I have Netflix streaming service, and I honestly find it takes so much time to find something that I am too tired to watch it after all the searching. However, though a couple years ago I became addicted to WEEDS, and watched every episode of the series that was available in less than a week. Luckily for me I have not had this type of addiction with any other show on Netflix. As for the Netflix/Facebook collaboration I like the idea. I doubt I will post what I watch, but I would be interested in seeing what my friends are watching, and would save me time having to search through all the different viewing options. A side note on Netflix streaming in general I mostly do not like the service because I feel the movies streaming are nothing I really want to watch, and usually have to go to Redbox to find movies I am interested in. I feel their TV show selection out weighs their actually movie selection, but maybe that is how they want it to be. Because a TV series takes much longer to get through than a movie.
ReplyDeleteI see Netflix as a perfect cost saving tool! One year me and my roommate didn't want to pay for cable so we opted to just get a subscription to Netflix. I found that I would spend as much time on Netflix as if I just had cable. We have to take that into consideration, how often do you spend on cable/satellite? Is being on Netflix the same as being on regular television?
ReplyDeleteI don't have cable TV anymore and have switched to Netflix and other online sources for my entertainment. I suffer from the same problem as most people I know, when I find a show I like, I watch ever episode available back to back until I have seen them all.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post. I'm not a Netflix member but I could understand why someone can have an addiction to it. I won't need to be a member because you can stream movies and tv shows online for free if you know how to look for it. I haven't found myself watching 200 movies yet because it just hurts my eyes too much.
ReplyDeleteWe should all be responsible in using the internet to avoid this type of addiction.
ReplyDelete