You could get paid £11 an hour to watch Netflix – you just need to be a certain age and speak English
A DREAM side gig paying people £11 an hour to watch Netflix is being offered by a university – all in the name of science.
Right-handed native English speakers aged 18 to 55 are eligible to take part in a study.
The gig is available at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where researchers hope to gain insights into brain conditions.
“No, it’s not a scam,” said lead researcher Dr Stephen Politzer-Ahles.
“We’re recruiting for a neuroscience experiment to better understand how the brain processes language.”
Participants will be paid around £33 to watch three hours of a David Attenborough nature series on Netflix while hooked up to painless sensors.
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The hourly rate is three times the minimum wage in Hong Kong.
A total of 64 electrodes on a skull cap measure the brain’s response to words, sounds and pictures.
Dr Politzer-Ahles said: “We’re using electrophysiological technology which passively measures brain signals on your scalp – it doesn’t apply any electrical signals to your body, so it is harmless.
“A harmless gel is applied to the scalp which some might find mildly and briefly uncomfortable. I’ve had other people say it’s like being at a spa getting a massage.”
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The scientist added: “We are investigating automatic, unconscious, cognitive processes, so we need participants from a fairly similar sample group.
“That means native English speakers aged between 18 and 55.
“We are very conscious of how sensitive it is to ask for native English speakers, but we’re looking at the brain’s automatic processing of language, and research shows that the way your brain processes language could be different with your native language versus a language learned as an adult.
“This might sound unfair but we need to keep the study consistent to get the most accurate results.”
Fellow researcher Dr Bernard Jap said participants must also be right-handed in the interests of scientific consistency, reports the South China Morning Post.
He said the experiments will help with ongoing research into conditions including schizophrenia and autism.
Dr Politzer-Ahles said it could also help develop artificial intelligence technology.
He said: “Research has shown us that the brain reacts differently to different sounds or words.
“But what we’re trying to find out is does that happen when you’re not paying attention or happen automatically when you’re not focusing on it?
“There’s much talk about brain training and AI to better understand what people are thinking – or using brain computer interfaces to drive a car. But these systems sometimes fail.”
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Last year we told how you could earn £500 spending all day watching Netflix and TikTok and playing computer games.
And a dream role offered by a bed company offered a £24,000 salary for someone willing to watch Netflix and take naps.