Picture this: It's 2003 and your family has just finished arguing over which Netflix movies to rent that week. Movies come in the mail and the family watch them throughout the week before sending them back and ordering new ones. Then, fast forward to 2008, and you have started to watch TV shows on Netflix's new platform.
Now, let's come to the present. You sit down and open up Netflix on your TV and scroll for a while. Then you flip over to Hulu to see if they have anything more interesting to offer. Then you check HBO GO. Finally, you check Disney+. Then you realize that you're paying for four different streaming services, maybe more.
More generally, streaming. There are over 100 video streaming services available, as well as quite a few music streaming, including Apple Music, YouTube Music, Google Play, and etc. The streaming world, at least to some, is on its way to getting out of control, with each service requiring its own monthly subscription. And that is just entertainment subscriptions. We haven't even taken into account subscriptions like Microsoft Office, magazine subscriptions, and email newsletters. Subscriptions started out as a service of convenience, but now, the oversaturation may have become burdensome. The services believe customers will pay more to get the content they want. However, statistics show a growing frustration(失望) among consumers. With so many options, they find it harder than ever to make a decision on what to pick.
Not only does the oversaturation of streaming result in confusing navigation, it also creates a financial burden for the consumers. Let's say if you want to watch Stranger Things , The Handmaid's Tale , and Game of Thrones , which belong to three different services, you would have to pay nearly $50 a month to access all three of those services, meaning it's not cheaper, and potentially more expensive, than cable.
People cut their cords and went the streaming route because it was simpler and cheaper. Now, it's just as inconvenient and difficult as cable was, if not more so, and unless you're limiting yourself to one service, it's not cheaper. Streaming will survive because we're in a Golden Age of Media and because each service is able to create high-quality originals. But Golden Ages don't last, and bubbles tend to burst. Until the inevitable(不可避免的)day when some product or service proves streaming out of date, we must suffer the choices in front of us. The next time you are scrolling through Netflix, Hulu, or whatever, and the overchoice is killing you, maybe you should just go pick up a book instead.
