During that time, other media players were using Ctrl+P as the method to control this function but eventually practically all media players adopted the spacebar convention. It’s hard to tell where this started, but in my research, I found references to both RealPlayer and QuickTime as far back as 2001. Most, if not all, media players available today, including video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, utilize the spacebar as the shortcut for playing and pausing media. You’ve essentially been programmed to use the spacebar through a gradual and likely accidental form of Behavioral Engineering. Why Does Pressing the Spacebar Jump Down the Page?