Netflix has been around for some time now and since its boom in popularity, its library of shows and movies has grown exponentially. I joined Netflix somewhere between 2013 and 2015, which, by now seems like ages ago, and I remember being thrilled to have it since it was the thing that everyone was watching or talking about. At first, their library was decent at best with a mixed bag of Netflix Originals, TV Shows, and low-budget films with a few popular ones sprinkled here and there.
Initially, I couldn’t see what all the hype was about, sure, they had some good popular TV shows at the time but here is the thing, I am not much of a TV show person, I know, hate me if you must, but I just can’t seem to stay hooked on something long-term without ever knowing the end result and so I tend to lean more to the movie side of entertainment.
Over time Netflix only got bigger and better, along with its library. Soon I was watching my favorite movies and even getting hooked on some Netflix Originals like Stranger Things and Narcos which offered short, ten-episode seasons that were easier for me to stick with.
All was good until eventually, I started to run into a bit of a problem. You see, Netflix has this “prediction” feature, otherwise known as recommendations. When you finish watching a show or a movie, Netflix will pull up similar programming on your home page.
This feature sounds great, and it is, but it’s not perfect. Eventually, when you have exhausted all of the content that is similar to each other you will slip into somewhat of a rabbit hole. For example, if I like to watch sci-fi movies and tv shows and I watch all of the Netflix suggestions then it would recommend programming that is in the sci-fi genre but from other countries, in another language or content that isn’t even related to what I like to watch.
Nonetheless, you have the power to reshuffle your deck.
When you open Netflix and are on the profile selection screen, click on manage profiles, this lets you change the profile name, picture, and a few other settings but most importantly it lets you delete a profile.
I know at a glance it sounds scary but trust me, your account management information is intact and will not be lost. When you delete a profile, your recommendations are reset, and what you have been watching is also lost but that doesn’t mean you can’t watch it again, you just have to remember where you left off.
Deleting a profile can give you a breath of fresh air when you want to watch something new but are tired of getting the same recommendations over and over again. It reshuffles your deck for you to see what’s popular and trending first, instead of it being on the bottom of the deck. I try to do this once every six months or so to keep things interesting. The last time I deleted and created my profile again I was really surprised at the movies that I had been missing out on because I had no prior watch history.
Now I’m curious, I wonder what new things I have been missing out on, excuse me while I go reset my profile.
