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Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

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Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#231

Post by wutbrodo »

alwaysnotright wrote: post #203

I watched a lot of TV and commercials as a young kid on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Disney channels, commercials ranging from baby dolls, batman and Lego. I wanted a lot of the stuff they showed on TV, and I got gifted a lot, but not everything. I come from a middle class norwegian family which meant that we could afford a lot of toys and stuff, but not everything at once. I don't think it influenced me that muc…

One of the biggest blessings in disguise for me was not having much money as a child[1]. From the moment we left college, I've made more money than all of my close friends, and I somehow spend the least as well. We've talked pretty openly about income and budgeting as we all entered adulthood and learned our way around personal finance, and it's been fascinating to me to see how wanting to purchase unnecessary things is this vice that my friends consistently struggle with, to varying degrees. I don't have especially good willpower: I just seem to be missing that urge almost entirely. My lifestyle is far from ascetic, but the value bar for making something tempting to buy is just set way higher for me for some reason. I buy everything I feel like; I just don't tend to feel like things unless I think I'll get a lot of enjoyment/value out of them relative to their price. In retrospect, a couple years of disappointment before getting used to my mom saying "no" to most purchase requests was a pretty small price to pay for not constantly struggling against urges to spend irresponsibly.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#232

Post by tradersam »

aviv wrote: post #198
drdrey wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense but you sound like my aunt who would tell me all the time that video games would make me stupid. But I wouldn't be working in tech today if it wasn't for my passion for video games. (note: I also limit screen time for my kids)

No offense but you went from consuming video games that make people stupid to producing video games that make people stupid and that's a success story? That's like my kids getting a job at the production company of Dora The Explorer and me thanking all the 980 hours a year on average they wasted on TV consumption.

> producing video games that make people stupid

Why are you such a pessimist? Not all video games make people stupid. In fact, some strategy / simulation games actually require a fair bit of work.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#233

Post by TulliusCicero »

neals wrote: post #5

I accidentally watched some TV the other day. Having not seen any regular programming for at least a year, I was amazed at how much ... dumber it has become. Also, why did we sit through so many commercials for so long? It feel a little like a twilight zone episode, where we sit there watching a box telling us what to buy.

We're actually in a golden age of good TV now...but it's also true that there's plenty of garbage on.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#234

Post by drdrey »

ggregoire wrote: post #210
drdrey wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense but you sound like my aunt who would tell me all the time that video games would make me stupid. But I wouldn't be working in tech today if it wasn't for my passion for video games. (note: I also limit screen time for my kids)

Watching TV and play video games have not the same effects on the brain. Watching TV puts your brain in idle mode

I don't disagree -- but why do we value reading books so much over watching TV? Aren't you consuming stories passively in both cases? (let's say reading Harry Potter vs watching Harry Potter)

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#235

Post by mike741 »

gozur88 wrote: post #82
Osiris wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Broadcast has to cater to the largest possible audience while streaming services can create content for niche groups. There's no competition for time slots.

Is that still true? My parents must have over a hundred channels.

for some perspective, Youtube has an estimated 46,000,000 channels.

there are over 7,000,000,000 people in the world

100 channels is not even close to enough, especially when they're all funneled through the same 2 or 3 providers

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#236

Post by superflit »

My kid has three years and because of me always watched Netflix Kids. Tried Youtube Kids but too much "infomercials" and weird videos.

We went to grandmas house and once the commercials started he said:

"Daddy take this out.. This take out"

And I was kind surprise. He did not have the concept of Commercials and hate it.

Now I think about myself, having to wait commercials and be woke up at certain time to watch my favorite cartoons.

Love it, I only wish it was possible to have a password on Netflix Profiles.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#237

Post by TulliusCicero »

aviv wrote: post #198
drdrey wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No offense but you sound like my aunt who would tell me all the time that video games would make me stupid. But I wouldn't be working in tech today if it wasn't for my passion for video games. (note: I also limit screen time for my kids)

No offense but you went from consuming video games that make people stupid to producing video games that make people stupid and that's a success story? That's like my kids getting a job at the production company of Dora The Explorer and me thanking all the 980 hours a year on average they wasted on TV consumption.

Lots of studies on video games show cognitive benefits, actually[1]. I seriously doubt all video games are cognitively beneficial, but it's ludicrous to just dismiss them all as a monolith.

Most of the people who are paranoid about video game "screen time" seem to just be extremely ignorant, and unwilling and/or disinterested in alleviating that ignorance. They've already decided that video games are garbage for the brain, and no amount of "facts" or "science" are gonna change their minds.

1 - https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201502/co...

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#238

Post by kodablah »

jwally wrote: post #207
pesfandiar wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder why Netflix doesn't add a "random content" button. That's one of the appeals of TV versus Netflix that could be replicated very easily. Something more akin to changing channels like "random cartoon" or "random comedy" would remove one last obstacle in the way of converting cable subscribers.

If I were king of netflix... There'd be a "cable-style-menu" option to mimic the way cable / satellite menus have looked since the late 90's. Maybe 50 or so channels of similar programming running on a time schedule, where you have the option of catching the last 30 minutes of "Terminator 2 - Judgement Day" or watching from the beginning. Its mindless, but I think that style of consumption is what a lot of people wan…

This is the approach some of the apps are taking these days, e.g Pluto TV.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#239

Post by DubiousPusher »

macintux wrote: post #77
DubiousPusher wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think TV remains popular with certain people largely out of ease of use. You can just turn it on and you don't have to make a decision about what to watch. It's always there. Also, changing would require learning something new. People genuinely find learning to have a level of discomfort so they avoid it. https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/03/learning-hurts-your-...

> You can just turn it on and you don't have to make a decision about what to watch. That...doesn't jive with the limited exposure I've had to cable television. Hundreds of channels and very little good on, I suspect people waste a lot of time flipping through.

I oversimplified for brevity. What I mean is, it doesn't require making an informed decision. You just flip it on and start making yes/no decisions. It has a lower barrier to entry in the same way that Tinder has a lower barrier to entry than other dating sites.

Trust me, having grown up in a broadcast and then cable TV household, there's a habituality to TV consumption that isn't there in streaming.

Though streaming has its own habituality in the form of bingeing.

Re: Kids in ‘Netflix Only’ Homes Saved from 230 Hours of Commercials a Year

#240

Post by GuiA »

scarface74 wrote: post #184
549362-30499 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

97% of American Households own a television. Which is down from 98.9% since last year, and is the first decline in 20 years, according to the article.

And how many of the 3% who don't own a TV do you think also don't own a phone or computer that they use to stream content? If I were staying on campus in a dorm room today, I probably wouldn't bother with a TV. I would have my laptop, phone, and/or tablet.

Which is why the Nintendo Switch is so genius. A home console that can appeal to people with a marginal interest in video games, but who don’t own a TV.
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