Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by humanistbot 1221 days ago
Also paradox of choice / overchoice phenomena, where the more options you have, the less you feel satisfied with any of them.
3 comments

I don’t think its applicable here. I personally have many platforms and options where I can find most movies that I want to watch. With this many options I have no trouble finding movie I’ll almost definitely enjoy watching.

This process for finding right movie takes effort and many aspects, while the streaming service only has my watching/browsing history and rating system which I don’t bother participating in.

I think it might get better if they become more intrusive, though.

Yeah, the problem isn't new at all.

It was much easier to choose a film to watch in the cinema (about 5 options) than to choose a film from the video store (500 options).

Considering you wouldn't feel satisfied most with only one option, what will be the optimal number of options?
> Considering you wouldn't feel satisfied most with only one option

Not true, the opposite often happens when you don't really have a choice and are mentally exhausted. If you're expecting choice and don't get it, then of course you're not going to be satisfied. But the lack of any choice (other than just leaving) can make certain people in certain states more satisfied than anything else. Legacy broadcast radio worked on this principle for a long time, and still does for people who just keep their car radio on a single station and let the DJ or talk radio producer make all the decisions.

> what will be the optimal number of options?

That varies significantly, both between individuals in terms of the average tolerance, as well as within individuals in terms of their present psychological state.