After News That Watching Netflix Is More Harmful To The Environment Than Driving Goes Viral, People Take To Reddit To Debunk This Theory
As the whole world is becoming more and more concerned about climate change with every day that passes by, there’s no wonder that people tend to become extra aware of all their activities and take the fact they could be affecting the environment into account. Driving an electric car or opting for public transport instead of having a car, not using single-use plastic, recycling and other life adjustments are being made by people all over the world in an attempt to salvage the planet. But is there a need to change your leisure activities accordingly as well?
People behind the Shift Project, a French think tank advocating the shift to a post-carbon economy that is dedicated to inform and influence the debate of energy transition in Europe, definitely think you should and even released a study on how digital technology affects climate change. Based on parts of their study, someone decided that watching Netflix as much as most of us love to do could actually be contributing to climate change as well and took to Twitter to tell people off from continuing to use the services of their favorite media provider only to get backlash on Reddit.
This company started spreading news about how watching Netflix is more influential in climate change than driving
Image credits: bigthink
Someone noticed their math is not adding up and debunked their statement with some calculations of their own
But this person thought some elements are still missing from this equation
Others pointed out that it’s not all about the cost
Others on Reddit felt that it’s unfair to put all the blame on people, instead of companies
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so after anti-vaxxers we now have anti-netflix? i'm sorry but i love my netflix. unless there is solid proof that i do harm to environment by using netflix, i will never ever give it up.
The fact that you're staying in to watch instead of going out is already saving energy, so relax. Now your boo driving over to come watch with you, plus all the beauty/shower products used in the runup to thie Netflix&Chill DO make it polluting.
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This whole pollution and Climate change thing is getting so out of hand that people are beginning to doubt the seriousness of the problems. And governments aren't helping in clearing things up. Tell me why I should get rid of my diesel car, while at the same time our world leaders are flying around in private jets and helicopters every week end to go golfing. Explain why I should invest in solar panels while at the same time a lot of government buildings are fully lit 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Explain why I should save water, while at the same time factories are using millions of gallons of water each day for their production processes. It just doesn't make sense to the common citizens anymore.
Just because someone is doing bad things for the environment that shouldn't prevent you from doing good things. Being choosing the lesser evil when you could be making changes does not make you the good guy. But I agree with you 100% that common citizens shouldn't always be the ones expected to change when we aren't the major problem, corporations need to be held responsible.
Load More Replies... I went and looked at the actual study by The Shift Project, which this tweet is based on. They included all the CO2 emissions that goes into internet video streaming, including construction of the data center, construction of your PC, etc. So I think that number is legitimate, but to be fair, it needs to be compared to the total CO2 emission of driving 4 miles (paving the roads, building the car, transporting the gasoline, etc) and not just the amount of gasoline needed for the drive.
I try to write funny comments on BP, but this is just sad. They have a youtube channel and are an online newspaper. Also they use twitter and stuff alot. Pretty sure that they are making more emmissions then you are, and just remember how much driving you can do in 30 minutes. More then 4 miles. So when in doubt, stay home and watch netflix to save the planet instead of a joyride. Also love the mythbusting comments.
Ok, so streaming something uses more electricity than reading a book, I get that. (And creating movies certainly uses more resources than writing a book) But electricity can come from renewable sources. And if I want to watch something, especially if I want to watch something without advs shouting at me at regular intervals, should I buy a DVD instead? Which is produced and distributed with a lot of waste, most of it plastic? I think the goal here is to create more renweable energy and better storage for that energy, not to abandon visual storytelling.
While it's true that regulations on big companies will be critical to solve the crisis, I want to point out that everyday people's consumption *does* make a difference. Why? Because while 100 companies *do* produce 71% of emissions, the vast majority of those companies are energy producers. Shell. Exxon. They convert coal and oil to electricity. So if we can reduce the demand for electricity, this will help them to reduce their emissions. Although again, I stress: unless we create regulations for these companies they will not be motivated to switch to clean energy and/or clean up their existing processes. So that is the most important thing! We do need to tell the whole story though.
I 100% agree that it is completely unfair to always blame the consumer and not the huge corporations focused on financial success no matter the cost. And I understand that the fact that watching 30 mins of netflix is worse than driving 4 miles is wrong. But I also think that despite all this, the way we currently use streaming services, like netflix, and the extent to which we used them, is completely unsustainable.
The corporations you want to blame do have customers. Blaming big corprorations rather than your own consuming habits is plain hypocrisy. It's up to everyone to take responsibility no matter how much environmental imprint you leave.
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Link to the original research https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/unsustainable-use-online-video/
Before I watched 5 hours of Netflix every night, I watched 5 hours of telly every night. The only difference now is that I watch things I actually want to watch instead of watching just whatever was on.
Also you have to factor actually all the energy and resources put in to making the shows you watch - cos the movie and tv industry uses biig bucks and a lot of energy. Can't believe the overlooked this integral piece of information - that might put it up there with the driving 4 miles, although i'm not sure by how much.
Given that most of the shows and movies on Netflix aren't exclusive to Netflix, you would then have to factor the number of people watching each programme on other platforms into the calculation.
Load More Replies...
so after anti-vaxxers we now have anti-netflix? i'm sorry but i love my netflix. unless there is solid proof that i do harm to environment by using netflix, i will never ever give it up.
The fact that you're staying in to watch instead of going out is already saving energy, so relax. Now your boo driving over to come watch with you, plus all the beauty/shower products used in the runup to thie Netflix&Chill DO make it polluting.
Load More Replies... This whole pollution and Climate change thing is getting so out of hand that people are beginning to doubt the seriousness of the problems. And governments aren't helping in clearing things up. Tell me why I should get rid of my diesel car, while at the same time our world leaders are flying around in private jets and helicopters every week end to go golfing. Explain why I should invest in solar panels while at the same time a lot of government buildings are fully lit 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Explain why I should save water, while at the same time factories are using millions of gallons of water each day for their production processes. It just doesn't make sense to the common citizens anymore.
Just because someone is doing bad things for the environment that shouldn't prevent you from doing good things. Being choosing the lesser evil when you could be making changes does not make you the good guy. But I agree with you 100% that common citizens shouldn't always be the ones expected to change when we aren't the major problem, corporations need to be held responsible.
Load More Replies... I went and looked at the actual study by The Shift Project, which this tweet is based on. They included all the CO2 emissions that goes into internet video streaming, including construction of the data center, construction of your PC, etc. So I think that number is legitimate, but to be fair, it needs to be compared to the total CO2 emission of driving 4 miles (paving the roads, building the car, transporting the gasoline, etc) and not just the amount of gasoline needed for the drive.
I try to write funny comments on BP, but this is just sad. They have a youtube channel and are an online newspaper. Also they use twitter and stuff alot. Pretty sure that they are making more emmissions then you are, and just remember how much driving you can do in 30 minutes. More then 4 miles. So when in doubt, stay home and watch netflix to save the planet instead of a joyride. Also love the mythbusting comments.
Ok, so streaming something uses more electricity than reading a book, I get that. (And creating movies certainly uses more resources than writing a book) But electricity can come from renewable sources. And if I want to watch something, especially if I want to watch something without advs shouting at me at regular intervals, should I buy a DVD instead? Which is produced and distributed with a lot of waste, most of it plastic? I think the goal here is to create more renweable energy and better storage for that energy, not to abandon visual storytelling.
While it's true that regulations on big companies will be critical to solve the crisis, I want to point out that everyday people's consumption *does* make a difference. Why? Because while 100 companies *do* produce 71% of emissions, the vast majority of those companies are energy producers. Shell. Exxon. They convert coal and oil to electricity. So if we can reduce the demand for electricity, this will help them to reduce their emissions. Although again, I stress: unless we create regulations for these companies they will not be motivated to switch to clean energy and/or clean up their existing processes. So that is the most important thing! We do need to tell the whole story though.
I 100% agree that it is completely unfair to always blame the consumer and not the huge corporations focused on financial success no matter the cost. And I understand that the fact that watching 30 mins of netflix is worse than driving 4 miles is wrong. But I also think that despite all this, the way we currently use streaming services, like netflix, and the extent to which we used them, is completely unsustainable.
The corporations you want to blame do have customers. Blaming big corprorations rather than your own consuming habits is plain hypocrisy. It's up to everyone to take responsibility no matter how much environmental imprint you leave.
Load More Replies... Link to the original research https://theshiftproject.org/en/article/unsustainable-use-online-video/
Before I watched 5 hours of Netflix every night, I watched 5 hours of telly every night. The only difference now is that I watch things I actually want to watch instead of watching just whatever was on.
Also you have to factor actually all the energy and resources put in to making the shows you watch - cos the movie and tv industry uses biig bucks and a lot of energy. Can't believe the overlooked this integral piece of information - that might put it up there with the driving 4 miles, although i'm not sure by how much.
Given that most of the shows and movies on Netflix aren't exclusive to Netflix, you would then have to factor the number of people watching each programme on other platforms into the calculation.
Load More Replies...
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