Amariyah Mallory 
Does Netflix need to chill? Pun intended. With the recent decline in subscribers, Netflix felt it necessary to rectify this issue. According to macrumors.com, starting in 2023 Netflix will begin to regulate the sharing of passwords. To accomplish this, Netflix will create “sub accounts” or “extra members” accounts. Each account will get a login, and profile that will be personalized to that specific user. With this new addition you will no longer have access to anyone’s Netflix account who doesn’t live in the same home as you, without paying a fee. But will change harm Netflix more?
Considering their competitors–Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max–and many other streaming services, don’t charge for extra accounts, users may decide to not use Netflix. This past October, during the pandemic, Netflix raised prices by $1 to $2 depending on the monthly plan, excluding price raises for the basic plan. At the beginning of 2022 Netflix raised the basic plan by $1 as well, making the lowest plan at $9.99 and the highest plan total $19.99. Each of the plans included an incentive such as HD, 4k Ultra HD, and use of more screens at one time. Is the price increase worth their services? Disney, Hulu, and HBO Max are more affordable than Netflix, with prices ranging between $6.99 and $9.99. These new price raises may be Netflix users’ last straw.
Although the price increase can cause financial changes to occur, this can translate as a way to spend time with others and strengthen communities. If you don’t want to spend extra money, you could go to a friend’s or family member’s house to spend time with them, or create a watch party! Remember, every coin has two sides. Perhaps we should see this as a positive result of Netflix cracking down on passwords.
By Amariyah Mallory, Whitney Young Freshman
Instagram: @Dancemari_
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