Blog 5 - History of Netflix

As we all know, Netflix is the most popular streaming service. There are about 260 million subscribers worldwide. The U.S. alone takes up about 30% of its total subscribers. 

In 1997, Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings had the idea of renting DVDs through the mail. After testing a few times, they came up with the idea of Netflix. The name was combined from two words - internet and flicks (slang for film). They combined the two words and came up with "Netflix". This is because, through the internet, you can rent a flick from them. After coming up with their name, they created the website - Netflix.com! They inspired Blockbusters and Redbox to do the same thing as them. Netflix has done many things to change the way people watch shows now. 

This is the OG website!

The Impact of Netflix

As I said before, Netflix was the first streaming and rental service for people to watch their favorite movies. It has impacted the way we watch shows now. But let's go back in time - it started as a website to rent DVDs. How did it change to a streaming service? Netflix decided to change their ways and worked with video game companies and Blu-ray discs. Streaming started in 2007 when they stopped sending the movie rentals. During this time, they started creating Netflix Originals - the first was Lilyhammer. 

Netflix has done a great deal in changing the way people watch television. When TV first came out, cable was huge but it was filled with commercials and ads. People started to become sick of this because it would take away from the show. When watching a season of a show, they would release one episode a week which created an anticipation to continue watching. Netflix was the only streaming service at the time so it became very popular as it had all the shows and movies people wanted to watch. As more people started to use Netflix, it started declining the usage of cable networks. People had to pay a small amount of money a month to watch their favorite shows so to them, it was totally worth it. Change really started to happen when Covid hit in 2020 with people staying at home all the time. Everyone wanted to watch their favorite shows and since they were at home, they could watch more than one episode a night - creating the term binge-watching. This term refers to people watching a whole season in one sitting. This is because they would release all the episodes in one day. 

Netflix today has changed so much from the day it started. At first, it was just a DVD rental service and now it has turned into a huge streaming service and has inspired so many other channels to create their own. Since this, Netflix has had some heavy competition but it still holds the number one ranking. Netflix has done a great job of creating a "new" way of watching TV. They have created their own shows and movies, have suggested lists of shows you might like, and have changed the way we think of television. To think, if these two men never thought of this idea, would we be watching television a different way?

Blog 3 - Eight Values of Free Expression

Individual Self-Fulfillment

There are eight values of free expression in the United States. They are a marketplace of ideas, participating in self-government, stable change, individual self-fulfillment, checking on governmental power, promoting tolerance, promoting innovation, and protecting dissent. Each value is very important in the American lifestyle as it protects our expression and ideas. It allows us to express our thoughts about what the government may be doing. 

The one that sticks out to me the most is individual self-fulfillment - the ability to make oneself happy by reaching their own goals. This value is most important to me because without self-fulfillment, what are we living for? If we have no goals, then how do become proud of ourselves. I believe that having self-fulfillment is so important and is a huge privilege. You can be proud of yourself for working so hard for everything you have. Before becoming self-fulfilled, you have to have a few other things. They are physiological needs, safety, love & belonging, and confidence. With all of these factors, you can achieve self-fulfillment. Physiological needs are things that are necessary for survival such as air, water, and food. Safety means you are mentally and physically safe. Love and esteem are when you feel well-liked and respected by others. Lastly, self-actualization is when you have personal growth and achievement. 

An example of someone achieving self-fulfillment is a woman finding joy in completing a hobby she might have. After finishing something she enjoys, she will be proud of herself and happy. During this feeling, dopamine will release into your brain and you will feel a sense of happiness and pleasure. In today's world, I see a lot of self-fulfillment in social media. Lots of people have become very successful from social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The influencers can express themselves in a way that they receive a following and success - some may even start a career from this. 

Why is this so significant?

Self-fulfillment is so important because it boosts dopamine in your brain which ultimately, boosts your mood. It will also boost your mental health. People become aware of what they can do and what they are good. People who are good at things can teach others and they won't accept something that is not right. Meaning, they will fight for what is right. This is important to a society because it allows people to learn from the best and it lets other people develop a sense of happiness and fulfillment. Self-actualization allows people to be happy with their work and opinions. In a perfect world, everyone would be able to achieve this but, of course, not everyone has the means to be able to do that. 

How could someone achieve this?

The best way for someone to achieve self-fulfillment is by figuring out what they want. Once you figure out what you want, whether that is a job, car, house, etc, you can work for it. When you know you are working hard towards something, it pushes you to do your best. If you know what you want and do nothing about it, nothing will happen. There is a quote from Dwayne Johnson that I really like, "Be humble. Be hungry. And be the most hard-working person in that room." I believe this quote is super important to this value because if you don't work hard, you won't achieve anything. Nothing happens overnight and after working so hard - you will feel so fulfilled. 

Blog 2 - US Supreme Court

 While watching each video, I found it shocking that they did not have the Constitution from 1787 or 1791 when the Bill Of Rights was added. To me, this is surprising because those are the original copies of these documents. Since the first Constitution was written in 1787, I think it is pretty important for them to have those documents on hand. I also thought it was interesting how they had all the documents after the Civil War. Even though I had prior knowledge of this fact, I will always find it interesting how people such as women, Native Americans, African Americans, etc, were not included in the original Constitution as they are now. I enjoyed listening to how RBG explained everything in this video. I always found it interesting how she fought for equal rights. 

Something I learned from this video was that the US Supreme Court gets about 7,000 cases a year to go through. I think it is interesting how people can fight a lower court ruling by going to the Supreme Court. After getting all of these files, I thought it was interesting that they only accept about 100 a year - meaning it is a very tedious process. After this process, they all go through the files and once a week, they will accept or deny the case. I also thought it was interesting that some of these cases are from almost 200 years ago - literally when these people were not alive! 

After watching these videos, I have some final thoughts about the Supreme Court. I really do appreciate all the hard and tedious work that they do. I think it is so interesting how many cases they get a year and they go through every single one of them. Obviously, the Supreme Court plays an incredibly important role in the Government but also in society. 

Blog 1 - TOP 5 SOURCES OF NEWS & INFORMATION

The New York Times is my main source of news. It has everything from games to new articles to news from all over the world. The NY Times is an app that you can download on your phone. I always love waking up in the morning and playing the Wordle with my friends. NY Times is reliable but I have also grown up around it as I am from NJ. The app is very easy to use and functional. As someone who is not subscribed, they are not throwing it in my face to become a subscribed member. I really do love the NY Times because I think they have information on anything you would want to learn about. It can be things from other states, worldwide news, or articles that will make you happy after reading. 

 

The Today Show is a news platform that I also grew up. My parents would watch it every morning and I have seen the studio plenty of times in my life. When I think of the Today Show, I think of my childhood and it brings me a sense of comfort. I really enjoy it when they cover their "lifestyle" news as it is light-hearted and fun to watch. Mainly, they cover all types of news, such as worldwide, breaking, and state news. I enjoy watching this more when I am home with my mom because we love watching the entertainment aspect of their program. 

Ever since I had an iPhone, I have used Apple News as one of my news sources. Apple News is great because it has all different types of news websites, such as NYT, The Athletic, and others. Apple News covers all types of news, just like the other two I mentioned before. They have local news, world news, and national news. Similar to the NYT, Apple News has created fun games in their app - kind of how a newspaper would be. Apple News is free but Apple News+ is a subscription where you can listen to audio articles instead of having to read them. I do not have a subscription but I think it's a really cool idea to have the articles read allowed. 

 

For my fourth source, I mainly use Instagram. I don't intentionally use it but sometimes I will be scrolling through the app and seeing a post about things happening worldwide. I like Instagram for this reason because it makes me aware of stuff happening and then I tend to go to another more credible source. With the new generation becoming the media, social media apps, such as Instagram, have become a popular place for young people to look for news. For example, if they like a political figure, they can follow up and keep up with what they say and do. 

  Lastly, like many other people my age, we hear a lot of our news from TikTok. TikTok is not always creditable but it is a good app to spread awareness of something happening. Since TikTok is so huge, many people can share their opinions about specific topics. Most of the time, TikTok will show you videos and opinions that you might agree with so you don't really get the full story of something but I do still think it is a good way to bring awareness to a topic. Since TikTok is used all over the world, there are many stories from different countries.