Insidiously since 1997, Netflix streaming service has become entertainment lifeblood for millions in the US, and worldwide, by offering commercial-free content, a seemingly infinite movie library, permitting multiple profiles per “household,” and creating award-winning original content (e.g. "House of Cards," "Orange is the New Black," "Bloodline"). Founder Reed Hastings and the mega-minds at the company have created an algorithm to evaluate each user’s data points, including viewing history, viewing frequency and daily viewing times, in order to predict suitable content offerings on an individual basis (Bien, 2014). This technology continues to adapt with ongoing use, constantly and intuitively offering new suggestions. From my own experience, the predictions are astonishingly, if not eerily, accurate. Russia’s culture minister, Vladimir Medinsky, went so far as to claim that Netflix is an American government tool for mind control, based on its data collection and consumer customization (Eckel, 2016).

If Netflix technology continues to evolve to the taste of the subscriber, could inviting a date to view your library give them some insight into your personality? Since the dawn of time, or perhaps since the first TV broadcast in 1936 (watch here), people have been cuddling up and getting it on in front of the television set. To no surprise, the phrase “Netflix and Chill” moved into the dating vernacular somewhere around the introduction of the Sidekick and the demise of Blockbuster. The phrase itself has spawned memes, but although it might not be texted verbatim between potential suiters, the process of meeting up and scrolling Netflix is undoubtedly executed over the course of many courtships. Modern romance.

Not so long ago, one unabashedly ordered season 2 of the critically unclaimed TV series and waited for a DVD to arrive discretely through USPS in a red envelope. Though Netflix still offers DVD mailer subscriptions (really), most have moved exclusively to streaming through an internet capable device. After hearing the soothing theme music and iconic red welcome screen, the host of the Netflix and Chill date is exposed for all of their past entertainment choices and “recommended for you” sections (a truly slick, perhaps suspicious host would have the chill programming of choice already dialed up). What’s the harm of wearing your personality on your Netflix sleeve? Psychological researchers found that participants who were presented with movie sets tended to reconcile their own inner moods by aligning choices with their dating status of either being in love, breaking up or not being in a relationship (Kim & Oliver, 2011).

It could be argued that consumer customization on such a personal level violates some element of privacy, though the service is convenient and widely accepted. Perhaps Medinsky was on to something. Many websites employ similar technology (ever tried a Google search for flip flops and ended up with Zappos ads cluttering every website you visit for the next

six

months?). However, Netflix stands out in its ability to rapidly update with the changing preferences of all of its 81 million subscribers. As is such a common impasse in the rapidly changing landscape of technology, users’ personal information is used as the basis for the valued characteristic of the service; in this case trading personal profiles for predictive movie titles. It may not seem like much of a sacrifice, but be aware that your personality is showing next time you Netflix and Chill right after a binging all of "The Golden Girls" series.