In today’s society even the least computer-savvy people can easily access anything. The general public does not even need to know how to interact too deeply with technology in order to get what they want out of social media, the internet and the many other services made popular by our society.
Almost everything people do these days is done through technology. So much is possible that never used to be an option, and many more things are convenient and easy to do like online shopping, making websites for businesses or communicating worldwide.
Even entertainment is more accessible than it used to be. For example, when people have free time and decide they want to watch a movie or catch up on one of the TV shows that caught their interest in the past, they either go find a Redbox in a convenient store somewhere or to their online subscription of Netflix and sign away the next few hours to their movie or show of choice.
The question is which company do people prefer to use: Redbox or Netflix?
Redbox requires driving to a store that has a kiosk, picking a movie, swiping your credit or debit card, and paying over a dollar for 24 hours to watch the movie. Redbox is restricted to only movies, while Netflix has TV shows and movies each subscriber can choose from.
The only catch is that many say Netflix has a limited choice of movies and that it seems to be more of a place to go to watch a TV show instead of films.
Netflix costs $7.99 a month, affordable to almost everyone, and the movies or shows customers can watch are unlimited.
Redbox can become tricky if the customer forgets to return the movie back within 24 hours—it adds another dollar per movie to your credit card every day the customer does not return them from the time they swiped their card.
Redbox requires making a trip, while Netflix can be revved up from the comfort of your own home. I asked KaDarius Donaldson, a junior Psychology major, what he had to say about the Redbox vs. Netflix debate.
“I think Netflix is better because it has a larger variety of movies,” Donaldson said. “Netflix has more movie genres like dramas, horror movies and even T.V. shows. Plus it has the first month free.”
There are many trade-offs between the two companies, but both have millions of customers worldwide and bring in a sizeable revenue regardless of the consumer opinions.
“I’m gonna have to go Netflix; it’s been pretty huge for me this year,” Patrick Provencher, a sophomore and Economics major said. “I like it so much because they have a decent amount of movies and series for a cheap price.”
Both companies have all but taken over the business of movie rental, and even though it may seem that they are huge competitors, Redbox and Netflix are both successful ideas that have influenced entertainment and changed the way society watches movies forever.