By Kayla DeKraker
Is Netflix catering to people’s phone addictions? Actor Matt Damon thinks so.
In a recent interview on “The Joe Rogan Experience” with Ben Affleck, Damon revealed that the streaming giant caters to the fact that viewers have “very different level of attention” when watching movies at home versus in the theater.
“The standard way to make an action movie that we learned was, you usually have three set pieces. One in the first act, one in the second, one in the third,” Damon described. “You spend most of your money on that one in the third act. That’s your finale.”
Now in a world of constant phone use, studios are changing how they create stories so people can still follow even if they’re on their devices.
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“Now they’re like, ‘Can we get a big one in the first five minutes? We want people to stay. And it wouldn’t be terrible if you reiterated the plot three or four times in the dialogue because people are on their phones while they’re watching,’” he said.
Affleck chimed in, saying that Netflix’s ADOLESCENCE didn’t do any of that and was still a success, proving that movie creators don’t need to bend to audiences’ phone addictions.
“My feeling is just that it demonstrates that you don’t need to do any of that…to get people, you know what I mean?” he said. “It’s like supply and demand. People want to look at their phone. They can look at TikTok…they’re going to do that. I think what you can do is make…the best you can. Make it really good, and you know, people can still go to the movies.”
According to Nielsen’s “The Gauge,” Netflix is the most watched of all streamers, but it isn’t surprising they have to compete with phones for viewers’ attention.
A study from DemandSage revealed that 57% of Americans admit to being addicted to their phones. Of these, 44% experience anxiety when they don’t have their phones, which may explain the need for phone use while watching a movie.
The outlet noted that “88.60% of Americans admitted that they checked their phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up, while 75.30% admitted that they used their phone even in the toilet. Meanwhile, 47% of the people reported that they felt a sense of panic or anxiety if their battery level went below 20%.”
These concerning statistics should remind us to be intentional about putting our phones down. And if you’re going to enjoy a movie, try giving it your full attention.
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