There’s no denying the massive influence innovations like the Internet have had on shaping culture around the world. But while corporations like Netflix and Amazon operate on a global scale, it’s not always immediately obvious to consumers of content via these platforms how market forces shape the different forms of culture they’re exposed to, and how societies are shaped by the cultures imported from other countries. As time goes on and people’s relationship with the media changes, these streaming services are having an ever-increasing influence on how we perceive our day-to-day lives.
Although no system of measurement in this regard is perfect, a number of metrics exist by which one can approximate the impact of streaming services on culture. One perspective is provided by looking at the interaction between shows popularized on Netflix and other social media sites. Actors and actresses who were relatively unknown before starring in programs on Netflix, for instance, are likely to see a dramatic increase in their number of followers on platforms like Twitter and Instagram. This popularity is beneficial both for the celebrities in question, who can leverage their social media presence to promote their projects and secure new acting opportunities, and for Netflix, which is able to attract people to its platform with the strength of this rising popularity. Netflix’s influence on the popularity of actors and actresses shows how, in some respects, streaming services are replacing the more mainstream and traditional outlets of television networks and movie studios.
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Because of its widespread global popularity, Netflix also influences global culture by introducing topics and ideas to an audience that exists beyond what this content would ordinarily reach. Netflix’s strength lies, in part, on the ability for its users to determine what type of content they would like to watch, and the company’s ability to collect statistics and data on their customers’ choices of content in order to make decisions about which content to promote. This new business opportunity has had the effect of increasing the popularity of programs which were once considered a niche genre in their country of origin.
Culture itself is created on the internet in virtual spaces, marking a transition from culture which is created from the in-person interactions between people in the real world.
The reality tv show Terrace House, for instance, represents a genre that was born and became popular in Japan and, due to Netflix, has spread to other countries. Unlike most American reality tv shows, Terrace House does not focus on drama which is artificially created by producers for the sake of excitement. Rather, the show focuses on the ordinary and sometimes dull daily lives of a group of roommates, whose minor differences in personality sometimes lead to low-stakes, yet relatable conflicts. The popularity of Terrace House in America comes as a surprise, given the types of reality shows that usually gain popularity in this country, but represents a shift in the desires of American audiences towards more laid-back, casual reality entertainment.
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Streaming services like Netflix have also shaped culture around the world by changing audiences’ appetites for different formats, particularly when it comes to the release of TV shows. In the traditional TV show model, viewers are obligated to wait a week between episodes, and their viewing experience is usually interrupted by advertisements. With Netflix, however, viewers have the opportunity to “binge” on several different episodes of a show in quick succession, and don’t have to put up with the annoyance brought by interruptions for ads. This change in format has had a number of positive effects on the quality of entertainment. For one, TV show producers no longer have to worry about making sure their TV shows make sense to viewers who miss an episode, as episodes are watched on-demand and thus storylines can spread across several episodes instead of being self-contained in each installment. Additionally, show producers have a much greater degree of freedom with respect to the length and structure of their episodes, as they don’t have to worry about making time for commercial breaks and fitting their show into a predetermined time slot. What’s more, as Netflix is based on the Internet instead of cable TV, censorship is nearly non-existent, and producers are free to explore a variety of subject matters, creating content that can be enjoyed by a more mature, adult audience.
Netflix, of course, is not the only streaming video service to impact culture globally. The platforms Youtube and Twitch, which depend upon user-generated content rather than content generated by a production company, have revolutionized the way we think about entertainment. Youtube, for instance, not only provides a near-limitless selection of genres of video for viewers to consume, but also allows viewers to interact with content creators directly, turning the experience of consuming entertainment into a social one. And Twitch has revealed to the world that a countless number of people, particularly children and young people, have a taste for watching other people play video games in addition to playing them themselves, so much so that the Disney channel has partnered with video game players on Twitch to broadcast their streams over the air.
The growth in popularity of the platforms listed in this article seems to be endless. As they become more widespread, so too does culture; not only does culture from one part of the world spread to other parts of the world, but culture itself is created on the internet in virtual spaces, marking a transition from culture which is created from the in-person interactions between people in the real world.
