It’s time to rethink how we use streaming services
Streaming has made us enjoy media less by overwhelming us with options. Streaming platforms offer many features that cable doesn’t – and most of these features negatively impact viewer experience. After watching a whole season of a show on Netflix, do you remember the opening scene of the first episode? Chances are you don’t.
Having access to overwhelming catalogues of TV on on-demand streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, HBO GO, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Apple TV is changing the way we interact with media. We watch more, and are less satisfied.
Binge watching, enabled by streaming services, reduces the critical interaction with TV and movies that society desperately needs.You can watch a devastating movie, and then recover by watching your favourite sitcom. But what happens to the audience when media overlaps in this way? Do we retain important messages?
An article published in the National Library of Medicine explains “This highly immersive behaviour [binging TV] provides immediate gratification, and thus it may lead to the loss of self-control and spending much more time on watching TV series than the person originally wanted.”
I argue that thanks to streaming services, the nuances of the stories we watch are lost in hours and hours of different plotlines. There are two challenges that streaming services impose that must be overcome to preserve the positive influence stories have over our lives.
Binge-watching TV is a distraction rather than entertainment. Entertainment is an activity with a distinct end, like a board game, or a movie. A distraction is available to you at any time, like your FYP or binge-watching.
Further, an endless catalogue of media can be overwhelming, and people often return to familiar comfort shows. Don’t get me wrong, I love re-watching sit-coms as much as the next person but there is little benefit to comfort. Being less inclined to watch new things is damaging for society. Stories capture human struggles and different ways of dealing with them. Without engaging critically, we collectively lose that empathic ability that being immersed in another’s story provides.
So, how can we ensure we media remains an impactful storytelling tool as opposed to a distraction?
Certainly, getting rid of streaming is not an option. The majority of people subscribe to streaming services rather than cable TV. In 2024, Convergence Research reported that 42 per cent of Canadian households did not have a TV subscription with a traditional provider. Further, streaming services are cheaper and more accessible. Cable TV provided by Bell ranges from $80 to $100 dollars per month. Some households subscribe to several streaming services, which can add up in price but are still less expensive than cable.
Importantly, students are impacted by the changes to Netflix subscriptions such as changes in pricing and limits on account sharing.
I propose that we restructure how we use streaming services. Of course, I am not suggesting you unsubscribe from all your streaming services. Sometimes, relaxing after a long day means watching a whole season of your favourite show.
However, it’s important to incorporate new habits too. I am suggesting you watch one new show with your friends, one episode per week. This solution remedies many downfalls of streaming.
By making it a social activity, you can have discussions about the greater meaning of the show. Plus, you have people relying on you not to watch ahead so you can experience it together. Lastly, you can divide the price of a streaming service and save.
Streaming has changed how we watch TV, and this likely won’t change. To preserve the magic of movies and TV, we need to re-assess how we interact with them and avoid binging when possible.
