Addictive User Experience
A User Experience Case Study for Netflix
Following case study is conducted for Design Research Module at National Institute of Design, Bangalore under Interaction Design Discipline
Introduction
Attention is one of the most important resources in the digital age, we are presented with a wealth of information, but the mental processing power remains the same, in ordinary conversation we say “Pay Attention”, it implies two important characteristics about the attention that it is limited and it is valuable. With the advent boom of social media, messaging and online streaming applications such as Facebook, Instagram, Whats App , Netflix, etc users have uncontrollably devoted their time and attention to these modes of digital interactions often jeopardizing their personal lives and in-person social interactions.
To understand this phenomenon and the corresponding user behavior, I conducted a design research for one of the most popular and highly consumed On -demand digital streaming platforms; Netflix.
Research Goals
- To understand how the overly engaging UI/UX patterns of an application can create addictive behavior for the user.
- To understand how the user’s viewing habits affect their daily routines.
Secondary Research
“What makes a User Experience Addictive ?
With this question, secondary research was conducted to get insights over the existing UI patterns that are addictive in nature and highly utilized by the leading digital platforms.
Primary Research Approach
With a User Group of 6 participants, research methods of Observational Study, User Interviews, Contextual Inquiry, Focus Group Discussion and were employed along with an Online Survey with a questionnaire answered by 12 participants.
User Persona
Insights from Design Research
- Users find themselves overtly engaged with the streaming application.
- UI Patterns such as Auto Play, Infinite Scroll, Idleness Aversion are highly engaging.
- Managing Time gets tough.
- Users experience a paradox of choices as a result of too much content.
- Personal/Professional chores and commitments get impacted.
- User often gets a sense of guilt and helplessness post the viewing experience i.e negative gratification.
- User finds difficulty to find a suitable content to watch.
Ice Berg Model
Based on some key events observed in the context of Netflix the below Iceberg models were framed :
Key Insights From Ice Berg Model
- Users eventually land up on other social media platforms while searching for related content which further adds on to their overall screen time.
- In spite of a recommendation algorithm structure present the user struggles to find good content, most of the time is consumed to decide a content for a watch.
- User tends to procrastinate personal and professional commitments.
- User also has a sense of ignorance for social interactions as they find themselves addicted to their favorite content and watch habits.
Conclusion
- Entertainment is fast becoming an all-you-can-eat buffet.
- Binge viewing and Netflix are becoming synonymous and extremely popular amidst the millennial generation.
- Mega On -Demand streaming platforms, involves a dark pattern of forced continuity, as there is no alert of subscription amount deduction once user converts as a subscriber.
- The increasing trend of media services like Netflix, Amazon Prime etc have caused a shift in the entertainment consumption pattern from the scheduled ones (traditional television scheduling) to the ones which provide On-Demand content.
- The consumption practices interfere with the cultural unification effects that bond people through shared, mass-mediated experiences.
- The factors of convenience and customization are over-powering the factors of cultural and community
- The overtly engaging binge-watching patterns may have a holistically negative impact on the user’s health and well-being, for example the sleep patterns, weight gain due to less physical activity, less participation in outdoor social events.
- In a race to catch up with the latest episode/series/movie, due to social trend or peer-pressure, or just to avoid an unintentional spoiler over a talk with a friend, users potentially land up in social isolation.
- The FOMO Factor (Fear Of Missing Out) because of a fear of being the only person who had not seen the show and thus of being unable to participate in the fan community and conversations, online and off.
- The modern flat-fee model of entertainment is dependent upon how the user takes it and consumes it, Self-Control and priorities play a factor here.
