Netflix has just updated their mobile app so that all smartphones running on all devices running Android 2.2 and Android 2.3 operating systems can now support instant access video. Smartphone users can now enjoy their favorite episodes of “30 Rock” during the morning commute or watch “Gangs of New York” in between classes.
But with this mobilization comes a certain loss. Movies and television were once social events – people planned to see the latest summer blockbuster with friends or gathered in a living room to watch their favorite television reruns. Netflix and other instant-access video mediums have changed the culture of film, and not necessarily for the better.
Making movies available on an iPhone or a laptop negates the experience of social interaction that was once a staple of the film and television business. Why wait for friends to rearrange their schedules when you can just load the latest release on your phone and watch it on your lunch break?
On the one hand, that quintessential experience of laughing along with a crowded theater is slowly falling by the wayside, but on the other hand, instant accessibility can spice up an otherwise hopelessly dull T ride. The question is: will there always be room for both?
Additionally, there is the larger, ever-present controversy over the accessibility of technology and its effects on society as a whole, especially among the younger generation. Instead of playing outside with neighbors, children are retreating indoors to sign onto Xbox Live.
However, Xbox Live and other forms of technology like it still incorporate some modicum of social interaction. Video game users can chat amongst others playing the game and form an entire social network this way. It is a different experience, to be sure, but not necessarily an inferior one.
Those who watch movies on their smartphones can still get together and discuss their experience – it just happens to be a different avenue of socialization. Will it ever fully replace popcorn with extra butter and plush movie theater seats? Probably not. The key in this case, as it is so often, is moderation. As long as people still go to movie theaters and kids still play outside before coming in to play “Call of Duty,” the increasing accessibility of new technology should not be a detriment to society and culture. It simply connects individuals in a different way.
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