Netflix Pulls the Plug on Feature Designed to Get Kids Addicted to Netflix
Netflix Pulls the Plug on Feature Designed to Get Kids Addicted to Netflix
Vanity Fair
YOHANA DESTA
Netflix will never stop finding new ways to make its users even more obsessed with Netflix. The streaming platform has largely succeeded in that goal simply by releasing engaging content (hit shows like Stranger Things, for example), not to mention easily facilitating binge-watching and closely studying viewer habits in order to always suggest the perfect next show or movie. But the company’s latest idea—a feature that essentially gamified binge-watching for children—veered diabolical, infuriating parents who don’t want their kids even more addicted to television.
After testing the feature and enduring a sharp round of backlash, Netflix has announced that it will no longer reward kids for spending extra time on Netflix. However, there’s nothing keeping the company from introducing a similar feature aimed at adults, especially since the company blatantly tells its investors that its competitors aren’t just other streaming platforms, but rather literally anything viewers do in their leisure time that is not watching Netflix—quite literally including “going out to dinner with friends or enjoying a glass of wine with their partner, just to name a few.”
“We’ve concluded the test for patches and have decided not to move forward with the feature for kids,” a spokesperson said, according to Variety. “We test lots of things at Netflix in order to learn what works well—and what doesn’t work well—for our members.”
Read more: https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/03/netflix-patch-testing-kids-binge-watching