Abstract

The emergence of New OTT platforms has changed the TV-watching behavior of teenagers. It is

due to widespread use of internet and smart devices. The following research is about the

impact of Netflix on the phycology of teenagers. It also investigates the level of vulnerability of

Netflix on teenagers in shaping their values and mindsets. A planned questionnaire was created

to gather information from the sample of 100 participants (primarily teenagers). The survey

showed that the Netflix is increasingly popular among the teenagers. The results revealed that

Netflix is affecting negatively on the cycology of teenagers promoting social isolation,

Depression, and mood swings etc.

Introduction

The research can be given as a physiological questionnaire made to learn more about how

Netflix’s visual content can affect the people's thinking process or overall judgments on various

controversial/Taboo topics. We can also explain this in a way if digital content has power of

human mind to change its perception to different things without the person even realizing he

has been propagandized/influenced, the person thinks of it as his genuine opinion on the topic.

Hence, to have a deeper and more personalized learning about all this this research was done

especially teenagers. The Psychology of Social Media, September 19, 2019. Moreover, the

other way this research will deal is that what effect does it has on the mindsets and attitude

of the teenagers.

Significance

The study will help individual (media persons, teachers and parents) to understand that the
exposure of infiltrated Netflix content can directly impact the Psychological conduct of

teenagers. Moreover it might help researchers to find the solutions of it in order to minimize

the negative impacts of it. It might take a similar OTT platform with filtered content for

millennials that can help them to learn and grow rather than being addictive.

Literature review and Theoretical Framework

In this modern day world Netflix and OTT platforms have replaced watching television. People

now see shows and movies on these streaming apps and even binge watch them and spend the

entire day seeing shows. After researching it is evident that the age group which is a big

consumer of Netflix is teenagers. (S. Umesh and Swarnali Bose, 2019) Teenagers are at home

most of the time and they need something to spend time and nowadays they binge watch. The

age in which these teenagers are, it’s a very vulnerable age. In this age you start to learn about

life, gain experiences, get to know about people, values, and ethics and also have a look of how

the world functions and how the society around you is. Thus, watching Netflix may affect

psychologically on teenagers and may shape their mentality in a different way. (Kam Kelson,

2017)

Not everything you watch on Netflix is positive and will bring goodness in you. Many things are

bad and can affect you mentally. Teenager binge watch Netflix so much that they start to live in

the world of Netflix and gets away from the reality. Shows causes harm to psychology of the

teenagers in many ways. Like on show Lucifer shows us how a Satan comes to earth and starts

to live as a human disobeying the God. This can’t be true in real life and when teenagers see

this they’re moral and religious values are affected. Two more shows promote false world in
teenager’s life they are 13 reasons why and Elite. Both of these shows portray college life in a

very fictional way that there are many competitions, relationships, nudity and all but in real

world college life is very strict and no such things are here. This causes depression, anxiety in

teenagers when they face this because they were far from reality and were living in a world of

fiction. Another topic; LGBT is also promoted in Netflix shows and movies which is not normal

or common in our society and not promoted or accepted too. But seeing this a teenager feels it

is natural and normal and his cultural and ethical values are changed and he starts to accept

things which is not allowed religiously or ethically. Flirting and touching in shows are shown for

entertainment purposes which results in teenagers practicing this here in real life and due to

which we see many harassment cases showing up because teenagers cannot differentiate that

those are scripted shows and this is real life.

Binge watching is also one of the main problems. People binge watch shows like they complete

entire shows in a day or two staying at home addicted to their mobile or TV screens. This thing

causes social isolations in teenagers and they become less confident and don’t talk to people

much. They don’t go out and don’t interact with people this makes them less social and in

future they find it hard to sustain and compete with the world as they are shy and they lack

confidence. (Sidneyeve Matrix, 2014)

Other studies have found negative effects including increased fatigue, mood disturbances, and

insomnia. Many of these studies show correlation, rather than causation and it’s easy to

imagine that someone who is already depressed or anxious might spend more time binge-

watching TV. However, there are also a number of reasons to believe that binge-watching may

negatively affect your mental health.

Problem Statement:

Due to widespread use of internet the popularity of Netflix had rapidly increased among

teenagers. As a result, it has many psychological effects; Depression, Social Isolation, mood

swings etc. Therefore, stressing on the awareness of it is the central idea of this research.

Hypothesis:

Use of Netflix has the negative impact on the psychology of teenagers.

Research Objectives:

 To evaluate the impacts of Netflix and Binge watching on the phycology of teenagers.

 To explore how teenagers deal with the Netflix addiction.

 To explore the underlying factors of the problem statement.

 To find the possible solutions to minimize the effects.

Research Questions:

What is the effect of Netflix on the Psychology of teenagers?

Sample:

Survey research paper

Sample size:
We collected a survey on the impact of Netflix on the phycology of teenagers. We collected

100 responses for the research. The audience is primarily teenagers. As a result, we found

that it had plenty of effects on the psychology of teenagers.

Sampling technique:

Convenient sampling

Method of data collection:

In this research paper, we used primary and secondary sources. Initially, we survey how

Netflix and Binge watching affects teenagers phycology. This survey included One Hun dred

participants. This research paper also used secondary sources, including the articles and

other research papers, which helped finding the relation between Netflix and phycology of

teenagers.

Findings:
Discussion and Analysis:

The results on the survey conducted on how Netflix affects the phycology of teenagers are

marveling. It found that 39/39.4% watch Netflix daily and 26/26.4% watch weekly. This

shows that Netflix addiction is increasing among teenagers. Besides, the highest percentage,

53/53% of teens are consuming the Netflix content regularly because of the content.

Following the last question 61/61% of the participants agrees that they accept cultural

representations projected through Netflix. The content can be sometimes very addictive and

depressing. Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 6.1. As a result, survey found out that

most of the teens face social isolation 31/32.3% and 19/19.8% are victims of mood swings.

Also, the results also highlighted that even after facing consequences teens love binge

watching for long hours. Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 6.1 However, the content

on Netflix is diverse and infiltrated. The users can easily access the content which should be

restricted. Moreover, this could be against the social and cultural values of a society. It was

surprising to see that 61/61.3% participant agreed that they accept cultural representations
projected through Netflix content. Also the largest share 52/52% believed that digital content

changed their desires and necessities. Although teen viewers may be agnostic about which

shows they stream, but they are picky about what programs they watch. Jeunesse: Young

People, Texts, Cultures. Another thing survey revealed that 78/78% participants said that they

use Netflix for entertainment. This should be taken into account that Netflix had completely

changed the way people looked the entertainment before. “It’s hard to believe that the

company, which allows subscribers to watch whatever they want, whenever they want, and

on nearly any device, is already nearly 20 years old.” How Netflix Changed Entertainment by

Wesley Baines. The features like VOD (Video on Demand) and original content had really

pleased all the users, especially teens found it very addictive.

Conclusion

The research shows that Netflix being an addictive video on demand streaming platform, is

negatively affecting the phycology of teenagers; depression, Social Isolation, and mood swings

etc. Also the teens are very much imitated by the infiltrated contents they are exposed to.

Limitations

Like every research this also has its own limitations, one can be our own point of not including

the elder age groups in this because it would have been harder to get a conclusion.

Second can be wrong understanding of questions as it is a really delicate matter and the

participants may have misunderstood what it really means.

Another limitation can be that the questionnaire had to be kept short so no detailed answers

were taken nor every confusion was answered about the research which means the actual

though process may differ a little than what an individual may have answered, slightly.

Suggestions for future studies

For a future research instead of giving out a questionnaire a focus group would be more better

as the people understanding the whole though behind this research would only participate and

would be more interested in giving their full opinions in detail instead of just ticking boxes

which would give us more accurate data to work with, though like all research this will have its

own limitations too.

References

 The_Netflix_Effect_Teens_Binge_Watching_and_On-Demand_Digital_Media_Trends

how-netflix-changed-entertainment.aspx

 How does binge watching affect yours mental-health Published by the Centre for Research in

Young People's Texts and Cultures, University of Winnipeg

 Netflix and Its Impact on Society – Kam Kelson, 2017

 Binge-Watching: A Matter of Concern? - S. Umesh and Swarnali Bose, Indian J Psychol Med.

2019 Mar-Apr

 What is the Netflix Effect? – Blake Morgan, 2019

 How Does Binge-Watching Affect Your Mental Health?