Pros and cons of subscribing to an OTT

OTT platforms have changed the way we consume content. From TVs to monitor screens and now to mobiles- content consumption has come a long way. Now mobile subscriptions are way cheaper too. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better, bam… you can also share these subscriptions with your friends and family. It would be hard to not be drawn towards such a medium of entertainment even if it comes with a monthly fee. 

Talking about the fees, it is also much affordable for mobile screens as it was for laptops or desktops. You could literally start with an Rs. 99 Netflix subscription and start consuming content right away. There are many other popular OTT platforms in India that you can try out. 

Here are many other reasons to buy an OTT subscription in 2021 

• Ad-free experience

Do you hate when your favourite video on Youtube is interrupted by ads that may or may not have anything to do with you? I surely do. When you are in such a situation, what you can do is just close the app and reopen it. The ads go away, but you would need to find that particular video that you were watching. This may take a lot of time and can also be so frustrating.

Instead, you can subscribe to the platform and enjoy an ad-free experience. That’s a huge bye-bye to disturbing ads that only make you feel more anxious. 

That’s right. Ads do have the tendency to increase your anxiety and depression over time. Constantly being exposed to product commercials that promote one type of beauty, or receiving advice on your life that you never asked for can ruin your self-esteem. You do not even have the option to skip it sometimes. So the only place this messaging has to go is in your head. 

Hence, a subscription to an OTT like YouTube, for that matter, would help you stay happy and healthier too.

• On-the-go content consumption

The best thing about OTTS is that you can watch content any time of the day and night as you please. Although you should take an 8-hour sleep, as many health experts suggest, you also might get a craving to watch your favourite web series right in the early morning. Well, with an OTT subscription you could do that. It can make you feel good as you can have control of your own timetable and not run it around showtimes on the TV. 

You can create a schedule that works for you in which you could slide in the time when you would like to watch the OTT content. 

• A huge variety

When you have a subscription to an OTT platform, you would be able to choose your content as you may please. Depending on your mood, you would be able to try out a comedy series like The Office, or a thriller like Stranger Things. Not just that, many of these OTT platforms create customised recommendations for you. This is based on your watch history, the shows that you’ve shown interest in and other factors. 

OTT platforms have been built on a high AI interface that can store your preferences and suggest to you what to watch. This will also save a lot of time for you to find recommendations, as they’re right there on your screen

Every coin has two sides. Similarly, consuming content on an OTT platform also comes with its own disadvantage. Here are a few of them.

• Disturbed sleeping patterns

The convenience that OTTs offer in terms of watching content whenever and wherever you are can also work against you. Binge-watching a series can make you lose your sleep. As a result, you would find yourself late to work, or to an online meeting which could have worse consequences. 

• Addiction

Because using an OTT is so easy, you can find yourself hooked on to it. What this means is that our brain has the habit of keeping us safe and in our comfort zone. Thus, it tells us to do that which makes us feel good. Especially, when doing it is so easy like just watching a show, it is very likely that your brain develops the habit of keeping you engaged with watching the shows at all times.

That’s probably the reason why you feel like watching a certain show at odd times, or at times when you don’t have anything else to do. Once you develop a habit, it may be difficult to avoid these in the future.

• Reduce productivity

You might find yourself constantly binge-watching your favourite shows which might take away from performing other duties like answering a call or getting groceries from the market. Watching a show is probably the easiest thing that you do that day, and it also takes so much of your time. Friend or for, you decide!

Conclusion

Everything in moderation is good. Whereas using OTTs for your good would help you in so many ways like improving your filmmaking skills, giving you creative ideas, and also helping you if you aspire to be a scriptwriter, it can definitely take a lot of your time and keep you busy. So it depends on you how you manage your leisure time and what you take out of it.