Diffusion of Innovations

        

        Since I talked about Netflix for the Each One Teach One blog, I decided I would also focus on it with the Diffusion Theory. Netflix was and obviously still is hugely successful. When it comes to the rise of Netflix, it seemed to have somewhat of a slower start at first, but that didn't last long. Once Netflix really started to sell, it almost instantly became mainstream. I think that one of the biggest reasons Netflix was successful was because of the affordable pricing. Before Netflix, the idea of watching a movie at home usually seemed expensive because you either had to actually buy a DVD, or you could rent a movie On-Demand or from the video store. Although Netflix started as a per-rental service for a brief period of time, they quickly adopted the subscription-based system for the service. People only had to pay one time and not have to worry about it again. This was important to early adopters because it saved them money and time. Obviously Netflix has really become majorly popular because of the simplicity and convenience. People were now able to receive entire movies from the touch of their fingers, directly shipped to their house, and eventually able to stream it on any device. Going to the movies used to be a big process and required more money. Renting movies from the store was also somewhat of a process. People were really drawn to the idea that now, if they maybe had an extra 20 minutes while they waited they could enter a whole new world by just opening an app on their phone. I think there were a lot of early adopters of Netflix because it is just such a non-controversial and positive idea. Obviously, there's a lot of problems that arise with technology. Social media causes people to get cyberbullied. People have become addicted to their phones. I think that any problems that could've arisen with Netflix weren't as glaringly obvious as the problems with something like social media. It seems like the main issue with Netflix is that people binge watch movies and shows, causing them to be unproductive. However, when Netflix first began I think this wasn't really something on people's minds because the problem didn't even really exist yet in any form. Who wouldn't want to watch any movie they desire anywhere at anytime? Obviously these early adopters saw no reason not to pay a pretty low fee just to watch whatever they wanted. In this case the positive definitely outweighed the negative and still does. Even if there are some problems with streaming services, I think most people would agree that the age of streaming really is such a cool thing and we're very lucky to be alive in a time where we can watch movies from all decades. This is why it has been so successful for the most part. Another big factor for Netflix's recent spike in numbers is COVID. Since 2019, Netflix has seen over a whopping 25% increase in subscribers, now totaling 221 million. COVID clearly played a major role in this since everyone was home. People had a lot more free time and wanted entertainment from inside the safety of their house so Netflix became even more of a staple. One last reason Netflix has also recently found success is because of their original productions. Netflix has now produced a handful of widely popular series and films with A-List actors. This obviously attracts people to paying for Netflix since it is the only way to watch their original movies and TV shows.