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How Streaming Services Affect Our Productivity
Did you know that almost 55% subscribe to one or more streaming services in the USA? With the increasing growth in streaming services subscriptions, it is evident that the number of subscriptions per household is bound to increase. The alarming situation begs the question of how these services affect our productivity.
With the growth and advancement in better technology, more and more subscription services are up for grabs to the average person. You have Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and many more companies offering the latest shows and TV series to earn your buck and, more importantly, your time.
The Financial Side of Streaming Services:
Buying a subscription on your credit card does not seem like much usually. And these companies ensure that the friction is as low as possible when purchasing their services. But when you have multiple companies, these costs really add up quickly.
Your monthly payment can move to $100+ if you are not vigilant about your expenses.
Surveys have found that many users forget their subscriptions after paying for them. They are not aware of the deductions being made every month from their bank balance.
These are the same people who argue that they can’t keep up with the money to invest.
The world of instant gratification and FOMO has led people to remain stuck to many things, including multiple streaming services.
They hope to watch the latest episode of all the newly launched to boast about it in front of their peers. Everybody wants to be at the center of attention.
When there are several services for you to use, you will naturally need a faster internet connection with a better facility. What it does is it increases your cost even more. You will be paying for the additional internet just for the streaming habit.
A report revealed that Netflix users spend 3.2 hours on the platform daily.
Well, that makes sense. When you buy something, you have that sense of feeling to use it, good or bad.
You already have a sunk cost associated with it. Let’s say the average Netflix subscription is about $30 a month.
Watching it for 3.2 hours a day for a month would amount to approximately 96 hours a month.
For understanding, let’s drag it down to 50 hours a month.
Now I have a question for you, what is your hourly wage?
$10??
$20??
$500??
The maximum population would find their wage between $10-$50.
For our calculation, let’s assume it to be $20.
So 50 hours spent at $20 an hour amounts to 1000 dollars. It is the actual cost of watching these shows.
Surely you wouldn’t give up on 1000 dollars on your salary? Isn’t it?
If your wage is way beyond the regular folks, you have already solved the money aspect of your life. In your current stage, you might actually prefer to spend time watching shows.
The other side of the coin:
The financial aspect is just one side of the coin. The real problem lies with what it does to your time. Streaming services are competing with each other to fight for your attention. They want your time.
They need you to remain glued to their platform and watch as many episodes as possible, which, in turn, creates a special kind of association with the streaming platform and gets promoted to your “can’t live without list.” What else does the company want?
You regularly pay for their subscription, and they shower you with new and new episodes and allow these services to affect our productivity.
Disadvantages of these services:
1) Reduces Productive Hours:
Spending 50 hours a month on these tv shows is not productive for you. You can instead spend those hours doing your pending task, learning new habits, or even spending time improving your health. Most people cannot complete their daily to-do lists because of the lack of time management and spending time on low-productive tasks.
2) Affects Long-Term Goals:
Your long-term success depends upon how you invest your time. Long-term goals are a collection of short-term goals. If you cannot accomplish short-term goals regularly, you can not achieve your overall goals on time. Make a list of your goals over a 1-month, 3-month, or 6-month period and try to work on the tasks each goal requires.
3) Reduces Your Will Power
When you regularly give in to your temptations instead of working on your assignment, your muscle memory weakens, and you are more susceptible to interruptions. Whenever you face a challenging task, you will be more prone to abandon them, creating a habit of procrastination and watching your show, ultimately letting the services affect our productivity.
4) Affects Your Sleep:
How many times have you binged watched an entire series? Probably more than you can count. Staying up late to watch shows affects your sleep and the work hours the following day very much. Not only the glare from the device reduces your ability to sleep immediately as soon as you turn the device off, but the amount and the quality of sleep are much lower and poorer. Not getting enough sleep will impair your decision-making skills, cause irritation and affect your mood throughout the day.
5) Affects Other Aspects Of Life:
What will happen if you are not in good shape after consuming too much content? You disconnect yourself from others, your attention span reduces, and you find little interest in the outside world. You reject going out quite often, affecting your health and physique also.
The Solution:
I know I have been going on for so long now. You must be wondering whether these services are all bad for us.
I don’t think they are.
The shows you watch can be a great source of relaxation and wind up your day on a positive note.
All things depend on one word- “Balance.”
“I hate balance in life,” said no one.
After doing everything you set for the day, if you reward yourself with the show, you remain motivated for the next day.
Rather than letting these addictions regulate you, if you control the temptation, it can be a great tool to achieve more productivity and goals.
How To Use It To Boost Productivity?
To use these temptations in your favor, you must understand the concept behind developing a habit.
I recommend you read this article before we proceed any further.
Each routine you form has elements to it. For the habit to become lasting, it should have a trigger, action, and some reward at the end.
When you utilize this concept and watch tv shows at the end of your tiring profession, you tell your brain that you have done good work today, and as a reward, you get to enjoy it.
When you repeat this process, you are ultimately creating a habit-forming loop. Watching shows at the end of the day, you’ll motivate yourself to finish the work in a timely fashion.
Conclusion:
Streaming services can create a vicious cycle if you are not vigilant. You have to strike a balance between assignment and entertainment. Restricting yourself too much can sometimes cause weariness and reduce your interest in your work.
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