Who hurt Netflix?
Netflix's days of playing with our emotions and taunting us with its anticipated password sharing are finally over. The dreaded day is coming soon.
“Love is sharing a password.” – Netflix
It’s normal to be salty around New Years or Valentines Day, but someone has hurt Netflix badly. So severely, that Netflix has become a delusional mess.
For those who need a catch-up: Netflix announced that they will be preventing password sharing by charging users additional fees. This has sparked major outrage.
Netflix putting an end to what it defined as love will occur all over the world by the end of this month.
Netflix did not lose their communication skills in their break-up though, according to Netflix, “over 100 million households worldwide are using shared accounts” which means that Netflix is missing out on a lot of potential revenue. But with a net worth of $138.85 billion, Netflix really is going to need more money to go on a heartbroken shopping spree, like Ariana Grande did after Pete Davidson.
But hold on, it gets worse.
In addition to the fee, Netflix will now require you to share your primary location. This seems like a way to collect valuable data that Netflix does not need, and I’m concerned about what they’re going to do with it. I understand Netflix needing your region, which relates to what content they have rights to be streaming, but they don’t need to know where I live. On top of that, Netflix will also monitor IP addresses and device IDs to ensure that devices are all within the same household. This is likely information they were already taking but knowing that they have made it required now so they can earn more money is frustrating. It feels as if I’m suffering because my best friend went through a break-up and doesn’t have anyone else to take her anger out on but me.
Maybe Netflix should have been happy with their billions, but it seems like they’ve chosen to finally learn a lesson. Now, when you call customer service, instead of answering with “how can we help you?” Netflix is answering with “how would you like to cancel your account?”
It makes me happy that customers are taking a stand and showing that lines are being overstepped. We don’t all need to be depressed and angry just because Netflix is.
The problem is that Netflix seems to have this false belief that they are still the dominating force in the streaming platform market, so they can do whatever they want and still maintain their customer database. Netflix may hold the largest market share of any streaming platform in the United States at 39 per cent, but there are alternatives now. Amazon Prime, Disney+, Crave, and Peacock are all competitors in the same field. Also, if you love a series or movie enough, purchasing DVDs isn’t out of the question. Netflix isn’t the only option anymore, and it needs to get over its high school peak.
So, to whoever broke Netflix’s heart: please get back together with them. It’s for the greater good.
