Users often turn to subscription video on demand (SVOD) platforms for entertainment. However, these platforms sometimes employ manipulative tactics that undermine a user’s sense of agency over time and content choice to increase their share of a user’s attention. Prior research has investigated how interface designs affect a user’s sense of agency on social media and YouTube. For example, YouTube’s autoplay left users feeling like they had less control over their time. We extend this work by investigating the design elements of Netflix, the most used SVOD, for the impact they have on users’ senses of agency.
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Don’t Let Netflix Drive the Bus: User’s Sense of Agency Over Time and Content Choice on Netflix
Investigating the design elements of Netflix, the most used SVOD, for the impact they have on users’ senses of agency found that a user’s sense of agency was at odds with the platform’s design.