Scope
The scope of this paper is to examine the environmental impact of video streaming by integrating life cycle assessment (LCA) with user behaviour analysis through an online survey. It highlights the importance of considering technological factors and user decisions, such as device choice, streaming duration, and resolution, in sustainability assessments and offers some valuable insights.
Summary
Suski et al. present an exploratory study that found the following results: First, the choice of end user device is decisive for overall online video streaming impact. Second, concerning behavioural patterns, participants mainly streamed in the evenings and on weekends, and the lion’s share of streaming duration was spent on paid platforms. The choice of device showed that laptops were used for the longest times, followed by smartphones and smart TVs, while tablets were used the least. Smartphones had been used by the most participants (about 3/4), yet they were used to watch overall shorter video streams. Interestingly, less than 15% had changed default settings of video resolutions. Thus, default settings have a strong impact on streaming impact. In the sample, parallel activities were done on a third of the reported streaming days. To understand streaming behaviour and promote sustainable behavior, the authors suggest that this parallelisation must be further analysed.
Relevance for EXIGENCE
Suski et al.’s paper provides evidence on the time of day when video streaming mainly occurs and that the streaming duration depends on the device type, both of which should be taken into account in designing incentive schemes. Additionally, it highlights the importance of default video resolution settings, which should also be taken into account.
- Suski, J. Pohl, and V. Frick, “All you can stream,” Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on ICT for Sustainability, pp. 128–138, Jun. 2020.
