Uses and Gratifications Project

Luis M. Bejines

Research Question:  How and why do people use Netflix?

Title

Life Is As Easy As Netflix

Introduction

     Netflix has become the new window to explore the universe and it has also been popularized by the entire society in the last ten years. Thanks to the Internet, people not only can receive movies through mail but they can also stream them.  Life is becoming easier in terms of technology and this can be proven due to the acceleration of new ways of facilitating goods and products. Netflix provides to its customers; loyalty, great service and the most important thing, movies.  This new way of watching movies and consuming goods has become very popular, especially for the youth and young adults of our society. This company has become very convenient for most of its users because it offers lots of films. As Mason (2002) describes in his article, “with Netflix’s selection of 11,500 movies, viewers can not only watch more, but they also have more to watch” (p. 30).

     This company has drastically changed and transformed not only people’s lives but companies’ businesses.  Moreover, user’s needs and wants are satisfied easily and instantaneously by either streaming the movies or get them via mail. Before, people had to go to the movie retailers to get their movies, but now, they do not have to do that anymore. This is because they can get the movies mailed or streamed. Most of the time, going to the movie retailers would take time or simply these locations would not have the movies people wanted. However, Netflix gratifies its customers by providing a myriad of movies, and all these movies can be streamed directly to their TV. These gratifications are visible and well-taken by Netflix’s users. Plus, the price users pay is relatively fair because they do not pay late fees whatsoever. This is a great chance to keep movies as long as people want without paying extra.

     In the last fourteen years, this company has made a big impact in the whole United States.  Even though people know the rationale for using this service, there would not be a clear, concise and limpid explanation about what makes this service so great and addictive. For that reason, the question asked in this study is: How and why do people use Netflix? The answers gathered will be beneficial to understand in more detail the function of this service and why it is so attracted to people.

Literature Review

     The history of every company is very important to know and Netflix like any other industry has its own story. As a matter of fact, Mason (2002) extends this story with much detail when he explains how the company started functioning as well as what methods are used in this company to attract more customers. He emphasizes in providing lots of little details about Netflix’s company, how the company has evolved during these past years, what makes the company so effective and more information about the company itself.

     Uses and gratifications methodology is the backbone of this work, something essential for this project. Without defining uses and gratifications, this research project would be superfluous or would have a little meaning to us. For that reason, Ruggiero (2000) introduces to us what uses and gratifications are in a very extensive manner. His study reveals that this phenomenon is nothing really new in all societies, and by providing data, he chronologically shows the rationale of utilizing uses and gratifications from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s until today.  He explains that people are always moved by social and psychological needs and this is how companies have come to fulfill those needs.

     Moreover, there is more about uses and gratifications, and to make this backbone stronger, Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch (1973) introduces to us a different yet connected use of uses and gratifications. Since this is an old article, we can see how the uses and gratifications have evolved throughout the time. They say that companies change their way of advertising their products because in this way people become more interested in those products.  Depending on the audience, the gratification may be altered (Katz, Blumler & Gurevitch, 1973).

     The use of technology is where the emphasis will be put the most in this research project because this is what it has been changing, in a good or bad way, our societies.  To make this statement clearer, Davenport and Harris (2009) explain that companies like Amazon, Online radio, Netflix and some many others have implemented new methods to satisfy their customers.  By using a method called “collaborative filtering,” these companies can target all kinds of customers and send any information related to what they like and want. These companies gather information from their customers, depending on what they bought recently, and they send related products through their mail or email.

     Moreover, since this information is very complex and the way that companies work is even more complex, databases have been built to reach not only anonymous people but identifiable targets. This is thanks to fact that many or a huge majority of people navigate in the internet for the most part (Naik et al, 2008). This new trend has made companies move or change not only the way they operate but advertise their products. Companies have modified and adapted to technology to stay in business and compete with other companies (Naik et al, 2008).

     The adaptation to technology has made companies think differently about selling their products or goods. For instance, Hilderbrand (2010) explains the transformation that companies have done because of Neftlix.  Filmmakers have benefited by this new way of watching movies, and instead of producing physical DVDs, they can just stream the movies.  This is a cheaper and easier way of selling goods to movie watchers. Netflix has evolved and impacted directly or indirectly small and big companies around the United States and this can be reflected in the way movies are watched (Hilderbrand, 2010).

     Technology has made possible the adhesion of new products. This is the way people are gratified and satisfied. Webber (2010) introduces a new way consumers are satisfied, and this way is by buying products that allow them to get free applications. For instance, by purchasing an Ipad, people can have Netflix’s application for free. This is a new form of attracting consumers’ attention because not only users but companies gain in this deal. This is a win/win situation for all parties involved.

     E-commerce is becoming essential in this present, and it is evident that will remain in this way for a while.  People and business are becoming adapted to it.  This is crystal clear, and Fox (2006) explains that e-commerce is growing vastly and faster than ever. Companies are feeling this change, and they are going from selling physical products to virtual goods.  This trend has made companies change their business’ protocol. From 2000 to 2006 there was a huge increase of the e-businesses.

Method

     Since this research is a bit more complex, along with the eight articles that I am using to describe what Netflix is as a whole and what uses and gratifications are, primarily for this paper, I am utilizing two more articles that will provide a clear over view about semiotics.  This is very important because in order to see why Netflix is so significant to society, we must show a study about semiotics and how semiotics analysis is applied to this research. For that reason, van Heusden (2009) introduces to us a clear and concise idea about semiotics and what semiotics studies represent in our society.  All what we see, all things around us are symbols, and they represent organizations, they have meanings, and they portray different significance depending on cultures and backgrounds (van Heusden, 2009). 

     Another study about semiotics was done on the development of human communications, which has shown that human beings have identified themselves with symbols throughout history, especially in communicating with other individuals (Gallantuci and Garrod, 2010). The study shows that people develop patterns to identify themselves, and symbols tend to be part of that identity in old and new societies.  These two articles will be amalgamated with six interviews that I did in April 21^st.  Because I am using two methods in this study, interviewing was my second method. In these interviews, I interviewed six people as I said before, and among all of them; there were two teenagers.  They were about sixteen and seventeen years old, female and male respectively. These two teenagers were from here, the United States. I also had interviews with two young adult individuals, around their thirties, male and female respectively, but in this case, the female was from the United States, and the male was from Mexico. The last two individuals interviewed were seniors, and both of them were males. These interviews allowed me to see how the familiarity these six interviews had with Netflix, and these interviews helped me understand the impact that this company has made in their lives. Interviewing these individuals allowed me see the patterns that they have changed towards watching movies. The outcome from the interviews was productive in my research because I had good responses related to what I found in some articles. These responses will be transcribed in my paper. The original idea was to interview more people, but I think that having interviewed people from different ages and obtained different points of view was sufficient to gather the information needed for my paper.

Findings and Discussion

     Seven different themes came up when studying and analyzing the data gathered to answer the research question:  How and why do people use Netflix? The categories of how and why do people use Netflix to fulfill their needs and wants are based on two. The first one is Why: 1) Convenience, 2) Reasonable price, 3) Efficiency, and the second is How: 1) Play Station, 2) Computer, 3) Streaming, 4) T.V.

Convenience

     The four participants that I interviewed concurred that convenience is one of the major reasons people use Netflix. One of the participants that I had the interviewed with stated that “you go online and select the movies you want and put them in the queue, and as soon as you watch one movie, you can order the next. As simple as that.” This is the new trend that people are following, and it is very convenient for a lot of people. Another participant said that by using Netflix “you don’t have to go to the movie store, and consumers do not have to leave home and get the movie.”  As it is seen, Netflix is becoming convenient for people who do not want to leave home, and it seems to be working not only for customers but the company as well.

Reasonable Price

     When buying any product or subscribing to any company, people in general tend to find the best deal, and Netflix has found a way to fit this protocol.  Users have found a deal with this company. Many participants noted that “with Netflix you can watch as many movies as you want for the same money you may spend in going to the movies one time.”  This may be one of many reasons for people to like Netflix.  One of the participants said that “people like me who like to watch movies should subscribe to Netflix.”  Price is undoubtedly one of the most important factors in buying a product, and Netflix offers the best deal for some people.

Efficiency

     Many of the interviews agreed that Netflix’s efficiency is reputable. Since the company has been in function for more than ten years now, the way this company works has been satisfying its customers.  One participant added that Netflix “is fast, and you can watch movies instantly without any problem.” The serviced seems to be good. Another participant stated that “with Netflix, you watch your favorite movie in matter of minutes.” So the efficiency of this company has a reputable reputation, and many of the customers like it.

Play Station

     There are many ways to used Netflix, and one of them is through the Play Station. Netflix has different applications that help its function with other products. Participants concurred that “Netflix is cool because you can use it in many systems. I can watch movies through my Play Station.”  This company has found ways to be more competitive and compatible with different systems. This is one of the most interesting facets about this company.

Computer

     The majority of the interviewees that knew about Netflix said that they use this service through their computer.  This is what I saw the most when I was doing my research. One of the participants stated “when I am bored, I select the movie I want and watch it in my computer.” This is happening more and more in our society, and I see this trend followed by my friends and family. They do not go to the movie theaters anymore.

Streaming

     Another way people use this service is via streaming.  This is becoming more popular than actual DVDs lately, and the reason for this is because it is faster and cheaper. The two young adults that I interviewed concurred that “streaming movies is easier because you can have the movies downloaded in minutes.”  At it is seen, now people are finding ways to use this service in a better manner, and streaming movies is the most convenient for the majority of them.

T.V

     The most familiar thing on earth and the one we all know is the T.V, and many users actually watch movies through the TV. People, especially the ones that have family, watch movies in T.V because it is better and everyone can watch the movie. For instance, the female and male teenagers said that “through Netflix, I can see all the shows I want on my T.V,” and “I can stream the movie and watch it on my T.V.”  Netflix has indeed become adapted to work in all the ways people may use it and this is one of coolest things about this company. This company has so many applications that it can be used in a lot of systems.

Summary of Results

     The results just shown gave me enough information to answer how and why people use Netflix to satisfy their wants and needs in terms of movies. Because Netflix provides efficiency, reasonable prices, convenience and facility customers enjoy and love the use of this exceptional and affordable service. Plus the fact that they can stream videos, not pay late fees, and do not spend extra money for the service, the tendency followed by Netflix’s users has made them love this service. In a sense, I can deduct that users utilize this service to satisfy certain gratification they look for.

     The research question of my research project was: How and why do people use Netflix? Since this project is about uses and gratifications, I will explain how users of Netflix are gratified by using this service. Based on the seven themes that I presented above customers subscribe to this service because it provides to them reliability, convenience, commodity and comfort.  Netflix makes this all possible, and this company fulfills the needs and satisfies the wants of the customers.  However, in order to be gratified, customers, as Ruggiero (2000) states, must interact with the product or service because this is a very important process in the uses and gratifications method.  As a matter of fact, this is what customers actually do when they subscribe to Netflix. In fact, interaction with the product or service is the way customers find their gratification.  Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch (1973) concur that “the audience is conceived of as active, ie., an important part of mass media is assumed to be goal directed” (pg. 510).  Both consumers and company has already an aimed target; the consumer will be gratified by, in this case, the movies, and the company will provide the service. There is always a premeditated thought from both individuals and company.

Limitations and Future Research

This research project was very interesting but a little bit complex. However, some of the limitations encountered in this project were the inability to find good information about Netflix, uses and gratifications articles and also how to apply to right questions to into the text. Other limits were that the interviews and the participants because I think that the questions asked were a bit repetitive, and the participants, specially the teenagers did not give the information I was expecting.  Time was another issue which I think in this precise project was compressed. In the future if I want to do a research about the same topic, I will have to work in depth with interviewees, be more aware of uses and gratifications, and the methods that I will be applying to the project.