Why You Like To Rewatch the Identical TV Exhibits and Films

I‘m a lover of TV and films, and particularly so throughout winter months, when it is typically chilly and grey outdoors. With the climate and small variety of sunlight hours in cahoots, urging me to cuddle up on the sofa with my distant, it solely is smart that I might wish to lean in. What’s stunning to me, although, is that relatively than watch the endless-seeming choices of latest content material obtainable on what appears like one million completely different streaming platforms, I typically discover myself wanting to go to my previous fictional buddies with a rewatch of TV reveals and films I’ve already seen.

Typically I do like to look at new content material, however I nonetheless discover myself navigating to Netflix to look at New Lady once more usually. The acquainted plot factors and characters really feel as heat and comforting as my blanket.

It turns on the market’s a motive we like to look at the identical TV reveals and films, and that has to do with the relationships we construct with the characters and the consolation we get from watching one thing acquainted. Retreating again to the acquainted generally is a therapeutic balm for a number of causes.

Rewatching TV reveals and films can relieve determination fatigue

Looking for out the acquainted—on this case, a beloved TV present or film—is a method to calm ourselves after a long day spent making decisions. Some decisions are higher-stakes than others, however even seemingly inconsequential conditions—like needing to plan what’s for dinner—can result in determination fatigue.

Choosing a TV present to look at is among the many lower-pressure choices you’ll encounter all through the day, however can nonetheless contribute to a way of feeling overwhelmed by alternative (see: numerous choices on a zillion platforms). Seeing acquainted storylines and faces may give the mind a relaxation from coping with the unknown and the necessity to make decisions.

“Watching one thing comforting can take away the stress concerned within the infinite decisions at our disposal and the consequential power drain” —Sabrina Romanoff, PhD

“Watching one thing comforting can take away the stress concerned within the infinite decisions at our disposal and the consequential power drain,” says licensed psychologist Sabrina Romanoff, PhD. The identical additionally explains why we additionally identical to the perceived security of the acquainted, she says.

Status quo bias, the concept that folks select to stay with what they know as an alternative of one thing new when confronted with a alternative between the 2, is concerned right here, too. Sticking with acquainted decisions that we know the outcome of is a protection mechanism that “protects towards disappointment, and gives predictability and the phantasm of management over your atmosphere,” Dr. Romanoff says.

A rewatch could make you are feeling such as you’re catching up with buddies

Our familiarity with the characters in these reveals is at play, too. For me, repeated rewatches of New Lady appears like catching up with previous buddies. This enables me to kind parasocial relationships, or relationships of the imagination, the place I develop a way of connection to those characters who not solely cannot reciprocate my emotions but additionally do not even exist.

If parasocial relationships develop intense to the purpose of absorbing your ideas or shifting your each day functioning, it might be trigger for concern and maybe knowledgeable intervention. However a extra informal dynamic—like a celeb crush—stands to offer interpersonal wants, like “filling a social or romantic void in your life, gaining a way of assist or inspiration from that individual, or having sturdy emotions of admiration for them,” therapist Emily Simonian, LMFT, head of studying at nationwide therapy practice Thriveworks beforehand instructed Nicely+Good.

Characters with whom we have now a parasocial relationship may be relatable, or be a mirror or lens to look at or replicate on our personal feelings and experiences, says Daniel Lieberman, MD, Scientific Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington College’s College of Medication & Well being Sciences: “Massive components of our mind are devoted to forming social relationships, and we really develop a connection to the characters and expertise emotions which might be just like how we really feel about our buddies.”

After an extended day, doing all that you simply do, would not it make sense that you simply’d wish to simply hang around with the buddies you already know?

Are there downsides to rewatching the TV reveals and films?

Not fairly, but it surely’s essential to know the position that nostalgia performs in main somebody to wish to rewatch TV reveals and films. For me, New Lady evokes reminiscences of household and emotions of closeness to them. I used to look at it with my little brother who now lives throughout the nation, so watching it alone jogs my memory of spending time with him, which is without delay good and unhappy.

Nostalgia is commonly considered a constructive sensation related to glorifying the previous, however analysis has additionally linked it to emotions of disappointment within the current. A study published in 2019 within the Journal of Character and Social Psychology discovered that it might probably current as a mixed-to-negative emotion in day-to-day life. Within the examine, a gaggle of undergraduate college students who accomplished each day questionnaires reported feeling extra nostalgic on days once they have been harassed and lonely.

However is that this conduct ever unhealthy? It may be if we depend on the acquainted to the purpose the place we don’t have interaction with new experiences. The hot button is to strike a stability between the brand new and acquainted; whereas new experiences can feel uncomfortable and scary, they’re mandatory for continued progress. “What the mind wants is a mix, and completely different people require completely different mixtures of the novel and acquainted,” Dr. Lieberman says. “The hazard is getting caught in a rut, and at that time it is not going to contribute to your psychological well-being, it’s going to detract from it.”

However, that recommendation applies to new experiences within the scope of your entire life, not simply your TV- and movie-viewing preferences. With that in thoughts, I am going to proceed to really feel nice about watching New Lady on loop, however I am going to additionally bear in mind to not undertake “embracing the acquainted” as my life’s mantra. There’s worth in looking for out new issues, whether or not it is a new present or a extra impactful life determination.