I. People Are Lonely
With over 200 million students going off to college each year, staying in touch becomes a less prominent priority. In fact, "Only 35 % of friendships reported in respondents’ senior years of high school remaining intact one year later" (3).
There are over 1.5 million people in nursing homes, one of the hardest places to keep in touch with the outside world (4).
8% of adults say they have no close friends in their lives anymore (5).
Based on these statistics, it is apparent that the "lonely" population is large and continually growing. Netflix can cater to these individuals to help them revive friendships/family ties.
II. People are Brain Rotted
Skibidi toilet, grimace shake, rizz, and mewing are all phrases that might sound familiar. These words are derived from of an area of content called brain rot. Brain rot is essentially "low-quality online content... like junk food for the brain" (6).
"Human brains want novelty, excitement, and social connection, and devices...provide a small hit of dopamine" (7). This quote shows how even the smallest interactions can trigger your brain into addiction. TikTok and Instagram have climbed up the most-used app chart, claiming spots #2 and #3, respectively (8). Both these apps are known for their short form content. How will Netflix be able to engage users for longer (high-quality) films when (free) short content like this now exists?
This is the questions that need to be assessed for the growth of Netflix!
(7)https://time.com/6302294/why-you-cant-focus-anymore-and-what-to-do-about-it/