Have you ever sat down to watch just one episode of a show, and suddenly it’s two in the morning, and you’re deep in a new series? Well, you can blame autoplay for that.
Autoplay is a staple of modern streaming platforms. It keeps us glued to our screens, serving up the next episode or video before we even have time to think. It’s a sneaky little feature designed to make us watch content for longer than we intended.
So, how much does it really affect us when it comes to time management and making decisions? Hit the pause button to find out!
Researchers in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago conducted a study that sheds light on the consequences of autoplay features, revealing how they influence our behavior and consumption patterns.
“Platforms like Netflix try to minimize friction so that opportunities for consumers to deviate from the activity in which they are passively engaged are few and far between,” said Brennan Schaffner, the lead author of the study.
“The 5-second autoplay countdown is hardly enough time for viewers to consider, or even just re-visit, their original intentions for visiting the platform.”
The study tracked 76 participants who reported having moderate to heavy Netflix use. Half the group turned off autoplay, while the control group left it on.
The researchers examined the viewing patterns of both groups and found that turning off autoplay led participants to spend much less time watching Netflix.
Those who turned off autoplay took more time between episodes, which allowed them to think about whether or not they wanted to continue watching Netflix.
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The length of sessions decreased by about 18 minutes per watching session.
Autoplay is often praised for its convenience, but this research highlights its downsides. The feature may cause users to lose track of time, watch more content than they meant to, and contribute to negative behaviors like disrupted sleep and other unhealthy consumption habits.
After turning off autoplay, the study participants were asked to reflect on their experience and whether they would turn it back on. About half of the participants said they would turn autoplay back on for convenience, but one-third indicated that they planned to keep it turned off.
The findings suggest that autoplay should be regulated more strictly, as it can influence decision-making and reduce people’s autonomy.
In the future, perhaps users can be given the option to turn the feature off upon account creation, specify how many episodes they want to be played automatically, or offer longer countdown times before starting the next episode.
“This study is one of the first to isolate and measure the impact of one attention-capture dark pattern—that is, autoplay—and its effects on watching behaviors,” said Professor Marshini Chetty, the senior author of the study.
“We need more studies like this that provide quantifiable measures of online manipulation to help regulators, platform designers, and researchers to enhance consumer protections and ensure that designs are not having negative consequences on society.”
The research was posted to the arXiv preprint server.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
