The funny thing about smartphone addiction is that it turns low-effort tasks into something completely productive. When I finally stopped doomscrolling Instagram and TikTok to watch an actual movie or TV show, I felt like I’d just spent the afternoon studying physics. Platforms like Netflix, which might once have been seen as time-wasting entertainment, now seem like the antidote to endless, mindless scrolling.
But it seems Netflix isn’t appreciating its new role. Instead, the company apparently sees short-form video apps, and smartphones themselves, as a direct threat to its business, and is jumping on the bandwagon. It’s not just about that Netflix is ​​reportedly now creating content with phone scrollers in mindEncouraging creators to create dialogue that makes their shows and movies easier to understand, even if you’re not actually paying attention; Netflix is ​​looking to position its mobile app as a real competitor to TikTok and Instagram by offering a short-form video feed directly within the app.
Netflix’s grip on TikTok
company officially presented its plans Callback to the short-form video during its fourth-quarter earnings in January. Then, on Thursday, the company confirmed its plans to introduce vertical video feeds in its redesigned mobile apps by the end of this month. This isn’t entirely new, as the company has been experimenting with vertical video feeds since May, but this is the first time we’ve seen an official presentation from Netflix on this type of video.
Unlike TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you won’t have to go to the Netflix app to find short-form videos from independent creators. Instead, Netflix will provide users with clips of Netflix-distributed shows and movies in a scrollable TikTok-style feed. You can swipe through this feed and watch the clip stranger things, Emily in ParisOr bridgerton. Many of us are already wasting our time watching clips of shows and movies on other platforms – often cut in low quality, slowed down or sped up, and surrounded by artwork designed to defy copyright claims. Netflix obviously won’t need to do this, so I expect the experience to be filled with high-quality video (depending on how you define “quality”).
It won’t just be TV shows and movies on the feed. Netflix also has big plans for its video podcasts, which are growing after deals spotify And iHeartMedia To bring existing podcasts to your platform. Hopefully Netflix will sprinkle clips from these video podcasts into the short-form feed to create an experience that isn’t too far off from scrolling through other apps.
What do you think so far?
The thing is, we were really close to potentially seeing Very of content on this vertical feed and Netflix’s platform in general. If Netflix had acquired Warner Bros., I wouldn’t be surprised to see clips from shows like HBO’s a knight of the seven kingdoms, white lotusAnd Excitement. Now that the company has backed off from its acquisition plans, the list of potential properties that could be turned into vertical video has shrunk.
short attention span compensation
I understand this move from a business perspective: Netflix is ​​potentially losing customer attention due to the addictive nature of vertical video apps. But do any of us really need another app to scroll through, especially when we’re paying for access to the entire content right from the start? It might be helpful for finding new shows and movies to watch, but it’s likely just another addictive time-waster. There are too many of them in my life anyway.
