It is practical and comfortable-thanks to the autoplay function at streaming platforms, we can bing series without moving. The next episode starts automatically After about 5 seconds And we viewers: inside can deepen the program.
But what effects this has on us and our behavior is only aware of a few. The Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago This month has published the results of a study that examined the impact of Autoplay on our behavior.
Netflix’s autoplay function captivates us on the screens
The recently published report on the study by the University of Chicago suggests that the autoplay function Manipulated consumption behavior. The study was carried out to 76 participants: inside, who have specified, to use Netflix moderately to frequently.
The participants: inside was divided into two groups and their consumption behavior was observed. A group switched off the autoplay function for the period of the study, but both have been observed for six months. The result was clear.
The participants who had switched off autoplay have selected their content more carefully and approx. 18 minutes less per Netflix session consumed. A participant also spoke of the fact that he could see more consciously what happened:
I realized how many follow I looked at … I didn’t pay attention to it in the past. Now I thought: ‘Oh, okay, I had to do it three times, so that’s the third episode .’netflix & Co.
Brennan Schaffnerwho headed the study, interpreted the results for the report. In doing so, he recognizes that the goal of the streaming platforms consists of The users: to bind the inside as long as possible. The autoplay function is a tool for this purpose. However, this also brings a risk of consumer behavior. The study wraps What happens to you when the autoplay function runs:
The 5-second countdown for automatic playback is hardly sufficient for the viewersabout their original intentions to visit the platform, to think or to rethink it.
Schaffner promises that the effects of the autoplay function could result in major problems, for example for children. Users: According to the results of the study, pay less attention to what they look at And especially for children, this could lead to programs that are actually unconscious or unintentionally running that are actually unwanted.
The results are clear and will probably have further studies. After all, are 76 participants: a very small group of people insidewhere the behavior was examined. Nevertheless, it is recommended by the executives of the study that the American FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) should deal with the topic.