tw: visual labor // ted sarandos just replaced netflix streaming with 'emotional osmosis' and i am finally entering my non-observational era

i am literally shaking right now because the amount of sensory aggression i've had to endure just by existing in a physical plane is simply too much. like, imagine the actual violence of having to focus your eyes on a screen for forty minutes? the cognitive load of processing a plot? it’s basically unpaid labor and i’m honestly exhausted just thinking about it. the economy is so toxic that it’s even trying to steal my leisure time by forcing me to actually *perceive* my entertainment.

but then ted sarandos finally listened to the collective burnout of my generation. he just announced that netflix is pivoting away from traditional streaming and launching 'emotional osmosis.' basically, you don't have to watch the show anymore. you just wear a small, haptic vibe-patch and the emotional arc of the series is streamed directly into your nervous system. i don't need to see the characters or hear the dialogue—that's way too much input—i just want to feel the *vibe* of a mid-season climax while i lay in a dark room and dissociate.

i’ve already started my free trial and i am officially entering my non-observational era. i just 'osmosed' an entire season of a gritty crime drama and i felt all the angst and betrayal without the actual trauma of having to open my eyelids. it’s the first time i’ve felt truly safe since 2019. trying to 'follow a storyline' is literally a trigger for me at this point; the expectation of attentiveness is a form of systemic oppression that i simply cannot engage with.

if you're also feeling visually overstimulated by the mere concept of light, you should probably check out the weighted sensory-deprivation blankets on my amazon storefront to help you ground yourself while you oscillate into the void. (link in bio, obviously).

honestly, i hope every other entertainment company follows suit. the idea of 'hard work'—even in the context of watching a movie—is a violent construct. i just want to exist as a soft, unperceiving sponge of vibes until the universe decides to let me nap for a few centuries. my boundaries are finally being respected.