Autoplay on Video Platforms
The discussion
Aisha: Video platforms should be banned from autoplaying the next clip. The feature exists purely to keep people watching past the point they intended, and I've lost whole evenings to it.
Mateo: I work in product design and I'd push back a little. Autoplay is genuinely useful for series or music playlists, and most apps already let you switch it off in settings.
Elena: The problem is that defaults matter far more than settings, and almost nobody changes them. A study I read for my psychology module found that simply switching autoplay off by default cut average viewing time by about a fifth.
Mateo: Off by default is different from a ban, and honestly I could support that. It leaves the choice with the user rather than with the regulator.
Aisha: Off by default is a start, but platforms will just nag people with pop-ups until they turn it back on. I've seen the same thing with notification permissions.
Elena: That's a fair risk, so the rule could also limit how often the platform can prompt users, and children's accounts could have it off permanently. I'd rather regulate defaults and nagging than ban a feature outright.
Aisha: Permanent for children I agree with completely, and for adults I'll settle for off by default with no nagging.