Abstract
This study investigates the tension between algorithmic curation and user agency on Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) platforms, focusing on how recommendation engines shape the subjective experience of choice. While platforms market themselves as bastions of unlimited access and personalized freedom, users frequently encounter decision fatigue, choice overload, and a sense of algorithmic confinement. Utilizing a mixed-methods research design, we combined an online survey of SVOD users (N = 420) with qualitative, screen-recorded navigation tasks and semi-structured interviews (N = 30). The quantitative findings indicate a strong positive correlation between reliance on algorithmic recommendations and decision fatigue, with 74% of participants reporting regular frustration during content selection. The qualitative analysis reveals that the curated homepage interface creates an "illusion of choice" by presenting highly redundant recommendations under diverse, hyper-personalized category headings. Users deploy various resistance strategies, such as manual search workarounds and external curation databases, to reclaim agency. This paper contributes to media and communication studies by conceptualizing "algorithmic paternalism" in digital entertainment and highlighting how interface architecture prioritizes platform retention over genuine user autonomy.
