Thursday, April 26, 2018

Kinda Irked


Like most Americans, I have a NetFlix account and watch the occasional movie or binge an entire season of a show because I have no life. And like most everyone else, I sometimes get messages from NetFlix informing me of a new show I might be interested in. I will usually glance at the recommendation and then delete it, but the latest one they sent me gave me pause.

It was for Baby Boss 3.

Now, my NetFlix history looks like I’m a disturbed thirteen-year-old, with a variety of cartoons, horror movies, the odd action/kung-fu flick, and documentaries on everything from politics and economics to medical shows to ‘things found glued to animals.’

I have wide-ranging interests.

So, when Baby Boss 3 crossed my feed, I was kinda irked. I may watch more cartoons than any three average pre-schoolers put together, but I watch the good stuff, dammit.

NOTE: I have not actually watched any of the Baby Boss oeuvre, so I cannot actually pass any sort of judgement on their content. However, I am fairly certain that even if they’re masterpieces of subtle wit and comedy, I’m not really interested.

So now, I feel like I have to somehow ‘fix’ my NetFlix history so it better reflects who I want them to think I am, rather than who I might actually be. This means a lot of Oscar-nominated movies, high-brow foreign stuff, and shows that end with everyone dead to show man’s inhumanity to man.

Yet, in thinking about this, what do I really care? After all, I’m (arguably) an adult and what I watch is my business. I like cartoons and animation. This is, after all, why I have NetFlix in the first place. So I can watch the things that I want when I want and while wearing or not wearing pants as I see fit.

Am I afraid of what some NetFlix computer thinks of me? No.

Am I afraid of what information the government has on me? KInda, yes. It’s complicated.

Am I afraid that I’ll bring a date back to my apartment (HA!), they’ll see my NetFlix recommendations, and think less of me?

Yes, absolutely.

Cheers,
-Jason

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