As Amazon becomes the latest platform to push an ad-supported tier, TV writers greet this retro model with frustration and, in some cases, disdain: “I thought 'Nine Perfect Strangers' with commercials was horrible,” says David E. Kelley of his Hulu show with breaks.
Then stop paying for the service if you’re not happy with it. Vote with your wallet.
Like, corporations need to make money… People understand that, right? They going to try to do things to make money. As a consumer, you decide the point at which the value is no longer there for you.
You’re not entitled to streaming services. It’s not a human right. I understand that it sucks to be priced out of a service you like.
Then don’t be part of society is the root of that argument.
Don’t want to be tracked? Don’t use a phone. Or a car.
Don’t want to support exploitative publishers? Don’t read.
Can’t afford rent?
Can’t find a job?
It’s all just blaming people for corporate bullshit.
I would not equate any of those things with streaming entertainment, but okay.
For the record, I’m not blaming people. I don’t even know how you could read that from my message. Of course it’s the corp’s fault for raising prices. But as a consumer, you do get to decide when the value is no longer there. No one is forcing you to pay for Netflix.
The point everyone is making is that this, along with everything else we have the “choice” to consume, is all a greater trend. I’m sure you’ve heard the word “enshittification,” well it was the word of the year and it’s on everyone’s lips for a reason.
Things are getting worse but the price keeps going up. This has long been a trend, called many names, from “shrinkflation” to “enshittification” to “planned obsolescence.” For decades this has been happening. Products aren’t built to last, companies aren’t competing for quality and customer satisfaction. The price goes up across the board, but everyone is making cheaper products. We’re just being squeezed harder because people have less money to spend. And people are tired of this process. We are the only ones paying. There is an imbalance in the way capitalism is running—and those anti capitalists among us will point out this has always been inevitable…but that’s another story. Operating under the assumption that capitalism is the system we are clinging to:
The tipping point for all of this is that corporate profits have been at record highs. Stock buybacks and rising CEO pay and out of control inequality. It’s all part of the same problem: we aren’t the “consumers” as such in this late stage capitalist world. We are being squeezed harder and harder across the board, our paychecks dwindle in buying power…the answer to this isn’t “well, stop paying for Netflix.”
People are pissed because this is one small kernel of the larger problem. We are products and we are the sacrificial lambs for the almighty stock price. We aren’t catered to as an integral part of the capitalist system. We are pushed further and further down to make space for record profits.
They take away account sharing, then they raise the price, then they lay off workers, then they force ads in our face…and then report how well they’re doing. It’s not just about Netflix, it’s not just about ads. It’s about everything. Our very apparent place in this system. We are an integral part of their capitalist system. But we’re treated like fodder. It kind of should piss you off.
How do you clean your tongue when you finally get it off billionaire boot. Do you need a special cleaning product or like does a regular tongue scraper do the trick?
Lol I’m anything but a billionaire sympathizer. Billionaires shouldn’t exist.
Dude, your answer to excesses of capitalism is “let the market solve it”. The only person you’re fooling is yourself and that only because it is the lowest bar possible
What am I fooling myself about, exactly?
That the market actually responds to consumer desires.
Unfortunately with the excessively oversized conglomerates that do vertical integration in an ever increasing number of industries, there is only the illusion of choice left for consumers. Not using any type of media (books, movies, etc.) is not actually a solution or a choice. So consumers are left with no choice but what is offered, and the offering is not dictated by their desires but by the companies who will screw you over to increase already obscene profits. The “vote with your wallet” argument you use leaves you with “pile of crap A” and “pile of crap B” to choose from, with no alternatives. Your solution is social disconnect from everything and everyone, that is not actually a solution or a real viable choice.
My guy, I’m talking about not paying for Netflix. Social disconnect? You’re so dramatic. I haven’t had Netflix in years.
You’re cutting one…but now they’re all doing the shit that made you quit Netflix, and you have no (legal) way of getting access to pop culture without endorsing the shitty behaviour that doesn’t listen to consumer desires. That is why “voting with your wallet” doesn’t work, because there is no alternative to vote for with your wallet. So unless you keep endorsing the shitty corporate behaviour, you’re pulling the plug on basically everything, and that is definitely a disconnection from many social interactions since you’ll have no clue what they’re talking about.
You don’t have to watch the latest, hippest new show of streaming services so participate in society. I can’t believe I’m even having this conversation, truthfully I’m baffled that I need to repudiate this.
But despite my sanity, I will engage with it… You know people still have dvd players, right? And libraries still exist? To be clear, I’m just trying to rebuke the absurd claim that you have “no way of getting access to poop culture” without streaming services.
We’re a day deep in you not understanding that proposing a market mechanism (consumer choice) as a solution to a problem created by markets is risible. I could try and explain it you again but I can’t understand it for you, so let’s call it a day. i’m happy for you to be the only person in the room not getting it.
What solution do you propose?
Ok, tell you what. i’ll engage with you as a good faith participant if you can meet the minimum bar. everyone else here knows what’s wrong with your suggestion. if you can persuasively explain that you also understand it (without reusing my words) i’ll happily believe you’re not an idiot and a waste of time and we can dig into what else might be an appropriate response
That doesn’t seem like good faith at all.
As a reminder, this exchange between you and I begun because you called me a billionaire bootlicker. When I replied that I didn’t think billionaires should exist, you said I was fooling myself. Instead taking me at face value when I told you my belief, you insinuated I don’t know how I feel about my own beliefs.
You’ve been nothing but antagonistic when I’m pretty sure you’d find we would agree on probably a lot of things. We apparently disagree on the matter of if someone doesn’t like the rising prices of Netflix, they should stop paying for it, though.