Streaming services create an illusion of choice, but they have full control over shaping media consumption:
Streaming monopolies offer endless choices, giving the illusion of control and even freedom to those who consume their wares. But by the very nature of the business model, it’s a kind of control that’s only ephemeral.
We’re in the midst of a churn in the world of art – particularly in how we consume it. And it has to do with what theorist Nick Srnicek calls “platform capitalism,” where algorithms that feed on user information take decision-making out of our hands entirely.
“Online content streaming is increasingly dependent on collecting a vast treasure trove of data about you,” Pat Walshe, a data protection and privacy consultant, told Wired. And this is not only changing what users see on their personalized screens – it’s changing the way media is produced.
“All the mysteries of the creative process are flattened: the fickle nature of the muse, the idiosyncrasies of scholarship, and the tenacity required to compose a novel. All are reduced to nothing by analogies derived from the logic of computer code, data processing and high-tech business models,” wrote Astra Taylor.
Under the guise of giving consumers more agency in their choices, streaming platforms tell us what we’re inclined toward and show consumers a catalog custom-made for them. It closes off any room for discovery, wonder, or experimentation that makes engagement with art challenging or moving in unexpected ways.
Netflix, for one, has begun to try to salvage its subscriber problem with a flood of mediocre content. The few good ones – like the recently acclaimed adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – are unlikely to return for another season due to the high costs involved.
Enter passive consumption. More than ever, people have begun to engage with the media on offer passively – with entire seasons of TV shows drifting by in the background. Music, too, is ambient, with algorithmic mood playlists playing an endless mix of sounds that fill up the pauses in our own lives.
“It’s very much in the favor of companies to keep you in this form of mild boredom through streaming and other ways, so you don’t necessarily reflect on the ideas you’ve bought into, the ideals of living in a consumer society, and consumption being the key to happiness,” Anuja Pradhan, a consumer cultures scholar, tells The Swaddle.
“If we look at things from the business-algorithmic angle…yes, it might seem as though they control what should be consumed by whom,” says Shriram Venkataraman, a digital anthropologist, about the emergence of platform monopolies.
Streaming platforms are beginning to realize the value of slow consumption, with several going back to the weekly episode drop model of TV. But changing the viewership model still points to the inordinate influence that streaming platforms have over dictating the way people organize their time and leisure – and at the end of the day, with platforms retaining control over what they create and broadcast, it also doesn’t give agency back to consumers. (Naraharisetty, 2022, paras. 2, 4, 6-8, 13, 14, 16, 22, 24, 25)
This article takes the stance that streaming monopolies only offer the illusion of endless choices, what you really choose is curated and limited by them. With these services collecting user information, it provides the fake assurance of personalized understanding while undermining your decision-making. This is relative to digital banking as part of my scope is to enable how everyone wants to live their life, individual to them and as a unit, and to do this, a lot of businesses are using data to both incorporate personalized content and influence their new projects.
What this does is take out all the mysteries behind the creative process and put in the hands of an algorithm. How can we personalize banking to each individual while not flattening the creative process of finding yourself? How do we give agency and control back to consumers to allow how personalized their banking experience is?
Another thing to note from this article was its mention of passive consumption, people mindlessly tuning in as streaming services churn out mediocre content. This made me reflect on the possibility of passive spending, and how people can get caught in the routine of paying for things that they do not realize they are potentially overspending. How do we encourage proactive spending?
References
Naraharisetty, R. (2022, September 23). How Streaming Turned Art into Content, and People into Consumers. The Swaddle. https://www.theswaddle.com/how-streaming-turned-art-into-content-and-people-into-consumers
