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0 pointsrsweeney216y ago0 comments

I left Netflix mostly because of this. I've always believed that too much TV was bad for you and I didn't like thinking about how to get people to spend more time on the couch. It doesn't feel great.

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6 comments · 3 top-level

ghostbrainalpha6y ago· 3 in thread

Did being responsible for a feature so important to the growth of Netflix result in a reward or promotion outside of your expected compensation?

And as a father with 3 young children, you don't know how much I appreciate what you built. Not having to click next between episodes of "word party" for my toddlers is sanity saving.

Also to the people without kids who will be judging this comment, you may not realize that many children's programs are not always 30 minutes long. Episodes of Peppa Pig can be ~ 8 minutes. And on iTunes you cannot make a playlist or autoplay episodes, making Peppa Pig during car rides on the iPad an experience akin to visiting Hell.

asark6y ago

Now that my kids are old enough to control Netflix, it's awful all around. Needs much better parental controls. I suppose they don't do that because any useful ones would make their preferred metrics drop. Gonna feel good to cancel soon, for that and other reasons.

sizzle6y ago

Are you condoning replacing children's autonomy and sidestepping parenting responsibilities with incessant dopamine depleting screentime/fostering electronic addiction at such an impressionable young age?

Why not read a book and play with some cool science toys and limit screentime?

I'm not a father but removing my children's autonomy with tech screentime and encouraging tech/media addiction worries me deeply...

Thoughts?

ghostbrainalpha6y ago

Before having kids I thought EXACTLY as you do....

But its hard to explain exactly how difficult this is, and how little time discretionary time you have, especially if you have more than one child under five, and I have 3.

I'm not trying to avoid responsibility, but for example there are days when I really have to go to the bathroom at 5:00pm, and that just can't happen until 8:30 when I get them to bed. Also "Word Party" is as about as educational as a 2 year old can handle and assists in learning the alphabet.

And I think letting them watch educational programs during our commute the best use of that time I can think of. There isn't really a lot of cool science toys for when they are in a car seat.

Rooster616y ago

To me, Netflix is probably the most benign out of FAANG. I wonder how many people there are at the other companies wringing their hands over the effects of their work. Facebook in particular, what with the exacerbation of vitriol in the country, as well as potential for foreign actor misuse.

I respect you for leaving. I decided a long time ago that the boost in resume for working for one of these companies really wouldn't be worth the moral baggage (Netflix being a possible exception for the reason I stated above).

RangerScience6y ago

Well, if it makes you feel a bit better, I love autoplay because most of the time I'm watching Netflix I'm cooking/cleaning/etc. I definitely clean less when there's nothing left that I want to watch, and autoplay means I don't have to break that flow.

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