Don’t Let Netflix Drive the Bus: User’s Sense of Agency Over Time and Content Choice on Netflix

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. We conducted interviews with 20 participants that used Netflix regularly, asking about their experiences and perceptions of features in the Netflix platform design that may affect their sense of agency. We found that a user's sense of agency was at odds with the platform’s design. Users, who were often seeking entertainment for mood management, were met with features that encouraged watching more than they originally planned to and watching content they may not otherwise watch. We discuss design recommendations that Netflix could employ to reaffirm their users' agency.