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Comment by ovi256 | Hacker News Reader

I would argue the opposite. The poor are incentivized to use free (but containing ads) products. The rich can pay their way out of those attention seeking ads.

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I would agree with this, but it isn't even just straight ads. Think about something like Netflix - the $10 a month subscription is nothing to the rich person, so if they don't use it or use it for one or two shows they don't care. To the poor person they need to use it to justify the expenditure. So essentially they are incentivized to consume more, in a very indirect way.

> Think about something like Netflix - the $10 a month subscription is nothing to the rich person, so if they don't use it or use it for one or two shows they don't care. To the poor person they need to use it to justify the expenditure.

Netflix has a hundred million subscribers. It's hardly a rich man's entertainment.

> Think about something like Netflix - the $10 a month subscription is nothing to the rich person

I don't see myself as rich, more like middle class, and $10 is nothing I worry about too much.

I thought that comment was strange as well. For $10/month, Netflix provides a bevy of entertainment. It's probably one of the cheapest forms of entertainment - even more so among paid forms of entertainment.

If you're hurting for cash, try to get an amplified indoor antenna and Netflix. You'll make a one-time purchase of $20-$40 for an antenna[0], (likely) receive a decent channel selection[1], and $10/month for on demand streaming.

[0]: This is the antenna that I have in my home, and I want to kick myself for not getting an antenna sooner: https://www.amazon.com/1byone-Amplified-Detachable-Performan...

[1]: Confirm available OTA channeles here: http://www.tvfool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view...

Not $10 as a lump sum, but a subscription?

Get netflix. Binge watch for a month. Cancel. Repeat when you feel like and can afford.

That was exactly the point OP was making. For a poorer person, Netflix might be a few times a year splurge. What happens when an anticipated slow month turns busy? This person is torn between "wasting" $10 that they really can't afford to spend again next month or neglect other things in their life to get their money's worth this month.

I read him as saying, "have netflix always and always binge watch".

And the poor in social capital have to, or at least can easily feel like they have to, jump at attention-devouring social networks because they need every visibility boost they can get.

People who already have a bunch of good connections can relax because they know they're embedded enough in the minds of their friends and colleagues that dropping off Twitter for a week won't be risking missing the one opportunity that they need to break into the next social class up.

Or pay someone else to take care of certain chores so that they have the time to sit down and think.

Seriously been considering doing this for food.

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