Video Streaming Services
Introduction
When we talk about video streaming services, we are referring to platforms such as Youtube and TikTok. These, and many more platforms, have become imperative in our lives, by creating a new source of salary and content for all types of users.
Let's take a look at the stakeholders benefitted from video streaming platforms, how they affect their behaviors, and what is the relationship intertwined between different sectors.
Stakeholders
Children
Parents
Content creators
Teenagers
Advertisers
Product Teams
Impact on Stakeholders
Parents
Positive Impact
Video streaming platforms help parents get involved in the upbringing of their children, by providing them with tools and educational content that is more accessible and affordable. These services also give parents the opportunity to focus on work while their kids are engaged learning through platforms such as Youtube.
Negative Impact
On the flip side, over-dependency on such platforms has led to unhealthy digital habits amongst kids. As parents have less control of how platforms are used and kids spend more time on them, it results in less bonding time with the family.
Teenagers
Positive Impact
Besides being able to form new communities and access news and information rapidly, they are exposed to content that sparks their creativity. Platforms like Youtube and TikTok allow them to generate and find content around new skills, like dancing, cooking, or Photoshop.
Negative Impact
By contrast, these platforms are shaping their minds negatively. They are prone to feel more disconnected from their surroundings and develop unhealthy digital habits that influence their values. These types of interactions also reinforce biases amongst them.
Content Creators
Positive Impact
Similar to teenagers, content creators benefit from finding a community they can belong to. They experience a sense of accomplishment when generating content that inspires and impacts viewers positively, especially when they reach a bigger audience.
Negative Impact
However, content creators are affected drastically by the content and persona they display on these platforms. As viewers are unable to discern between what is reality or a performance, they associate content creators to the small fraction of personality they see. Therefore, content creators have to be extremely careful about how they share an opinion.
They also struggle to balance the importance of metrics. When content creators start seeing a decrease in views and likes, their sense of happiness and success is blurred and distressed. Lastly, they are unable to protect original content and control how people react to it.
Advertisers
Positive Impact
Brands and advertisers take advantage of how these platforms provide larger and more relevant audiences. This allows them to build brand awareness by promoting native ad campaigns that resonate with their audiences. As a result, the amount of clicks made on the ads is directly proportional to the financial benefit.
Negative Impact
Meanwhile, if the ads are not targeted correctly, advertisers might lose out on conversions. If we take smaller companies into consideration, they might not benefit from a greater reach due to the presence of bigger competitors. Also, the constant display of ads might backfire, as viewers find them annoying and disruptive.
Relationship Analysis
To further dive into understanding problem behaviors around video streaming platforms, we researched and mapped the relationships between problem areas and individuals, business, society, and the planet. By doing so, we found the following tensions.
Consumption Behaviors
Personalization
Through personalization, businesses have reinforced biases indirectly. When individuals are only exposed to content similar to their behaviors and preferences, it increases polarization in society, and strengthens geographical stereotypes and attitudes.
Ads
As individuals benefit from free streaming, businesses exploit their personal data to target specific ads. This generates a tension between how streaming services are delivering content to individuals.
Environmental Waste
While the video streaming industry helps create awareness on environmental issues, it uses high amounts of energy and encourages electronic waste.
Energy
Society benefits from accessible streaming services which, at the same time, require servers to hold content and data that contribute to climate change.
Addiction and Mental Health
Mental Health Illnesses
Society can connect more through online communities by reacting, adding comments, and having live conversations. However, online communication is limited if you want to build real connections.
Time & Engagement
Video streaming platforms have made it easy to access content. So much, that is is leading users to spend more time on their platforms than outdoors or with others. This constant stimulation decreases the attention span of individuals, hindering our focus on other activities.
Digital Behaviors
People have access to new content every second, which they can explore by scrolling infinitely on their devices. This results in an addiction to constantly checking feeds and other unhealthy digital habits, as they can have withdrawal effects when not using a platform or their eye-sight can be affected.
Social Behaviors
Connectivity
Educational streaming platforms have brought society affordable and accessible learning tools. However, this limits how society learns online and physically, because the more we connect digitally, the more disconnected we are in person.
Areas of Improvement
Businesses need to rethink new ways to engage people more mindfully and promote healthier digital habits. The amount of time spent and the curatorial aspect of online personalities are important parts of the problem that need care and attention.
Individuals and society at large also need to be more conscious of their digital habits and get a deeper understanding of how these platforms affect them and the environment.