Even basic social functionality PLEASE (a.k.a. why my kids don't use IMDb)

This is going to sound like a rant, but honestly it's more of a wistful lament ...

Back in the day, I was a computer and information nerd so I really appreciate the value of a massive, monolithic, comprehensive database. I really do, in an almost visceral and tactile way. And that's what IMDb is - it's in the name. And I love IMDb: been using it since last century, I namedrop it in discussions about film, it's my first port of call when checking a title or credit, and IMDb ratings (with a pinch of salt) are my gold standard.

But that was back then, and the landscape has changed. The web isn't about computers and data any more: it's about shared experience. And *nothing* is shared in IMDb (except in the sense of public/private).

- Why doesn't it integrate with my social media accounts?

- How do I set up a group of my friends so I can see their ratings, lists and contributions?

- Where do I chat with them about films, or about their reviews (I miss the old public message boards, and now there are so many industry models of how to implement that functionality better, starting with groups)?

- I really don't care what the average rating of a film is for Germany or Canada: I want to see what it is among my friends. That's the best possible indication of whether I'd like it.

- When I open a film, I'd like to see how many of my friends have seen it. And how many have it on their wishlists. Then we could go see it together, or livestream it simultaneously, or just moan about missing it.

- Heck, I don't even seem to be able to set up a list of reviewers/contributors that I want to follow ...

There's no wheel to invent for this stuff - it's common functionality across a host of sites/platforms. So where is it in IMDb? Where's the roadmap? Where are the functional enhancements, rather than the endless tweaking of existing functionality and occasional removal of much loved features (cf message boards, or ratings by age/gender).

And if this kind of stuff is not added, then younger demographics will look elsewhere. They already do, tbh.

The majority of IMDb traffic is quick single-film checks (the *average* visit time is just a couple of minutes) and a lot of that traffic is driven by habit and inertia: people probably believe that more people have rated films on IMDb than on other platforms, even though that hasn't been true for a while. So the current user base may be very broad, but it's also very shallow.

I worry that if IMDb can't get people to stay on the site longer (i.e. to engage with and invest in the platform) then it'll become the web's Encyclopaedia Britannica - everyone's heard of it and it still exists, but hardly anyone actually uses it any more.

So please, start thinking beyond the database. Adding friend groups and giving us a place to see their [combined] ratings, wishlists and contributions would be a great first step (okay, first four steps).

Otherwise in a few years, it'll only be us old people using the platform.