Human vs. Machine
No one should be taking these assumptions too seriously, but it is interesting to give some thought to. Katherine Hayles' essay "The Body and the Machine", questions whether or not this exchange of power has already taken place.
"Linking subjectivity with computational media is a highly contestedAs comforting as it is to believe that humans are still in complete control over machines, Netflix has possibly put the throne up for grabs. A major contributor to the popularity of binge-watching is the false sense of productivity we get from it.
project in which the struggle for dominance plays a central
role: should the body be subjected to the machine, or
the machine to the body? The stakes are nothing less than
whether the embodied human becomes the center for humanistic
inquiry within which digital media can be understood, or
whether media provide the context and ground for configuring
and disciplining the body."
-Katherine Hayles, "The Body and the Machine"
It may sound ridiculous to think that one can feel productive by watching a screen, but setting a goal and accomplishing that goal is where this feeling comes from. For example, if someone plans on finishing the last two episodes of Stranger Things, they will put the task on their mental to-do list. After completing the two episodes, a sense of relief and productivity arises when they mentally cross the task off of their list. This tricks that person into thinking they have actually done something productive.
Since humans feel productive without actually being productive, this may cause a decrease in productivity. If humans are no longer productive due to the influence of technology, this will support Hayles' idea of media disciplining the body.