It is 2:45 a.m., and UCF freshman Corey Ellison is on his eighth episode of South Park.
Laughing hysterically at the satiric humor, he’s thoroughly enjoying himself after his hum-drum day of classes. Ellison, among many others, has also declined to partake in the new feature available to Netflix users, which allows your Facebook friends to see your viewing habits.
“I think that a lot of people want others to think that they’re out socializing,” Ellison said, “even while they’re up to the late hours of the morning watching marathons of T.V. show and movies.”
Ellison is not alone.
Joining with the social media giant Facebook, Netflix is now offering registered users the chance to allow what they watch to be shared with their Facebook friends. Similar to Spotify, the online program that allows Facebook friends to share music they are listening to, this new application would give your friends a play by play of your viewing habits.
Unlike Spotify, however, this new service doesn’t seem to be going over too well with student users.
“Frankly, it’s a bit embarrassing.” Ellison said, when asked about whether or not he would use the new feature. “It seems to me as if they are crossing a privacy line that shouldn’t be crossed.”
However, even if what he’s watching isn’t embarrassing, UCF student Brandon Durr said he still wouldn’t want people to know what he’s watching and doesn’t care to know what others are watching.
Others certainly agree. UCF student Cody Pinti said he would “most certainly not” use the new feature.
On the other hand, it’s a great way to promote the movies we watch with our friends, UCF student Marcela Restrepo said.
“If you’re not watching something you’re not supposed to, it doesn’t matter,” Restrepo said.
The new sharing tool was made possible by the amendment of the Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988, which made it illegal for a company to distribute video rental information.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” another UCF student, Anthony Ballmas, said.
Whether the new application is merely annoying or downright intrusive is amongst debate, but the consensus seems pretty clear. Fortunately for Ellison and other Netflix users, the service is completely optional.
By going to the social settings on their Netflix account, users can activate this feature and share the movies and shows they wish on their Facebook.
The effects the feature will have on the company remains to be seen.
Ellison notes that his South Park marathon was not initiated by any prompts by his Facebook friends, and that’s the way he’d like to keep it.
“There are some things that students want to keep private,” Ellison said, “and their Instant Queues are included in that list.“
