The Psychological Reason Why TV Shows Are So Addictive

Here’s how you can combat it

5 min readOct 21, 2021

May. With the burgeoning pandemic, my semester finally came to an end. Three months of holiday awaited me before college resumes and I begin my next journey. I figured that these months were make or break. I could either maximally utilize them or submit to the path of least resistance, idling my way in these uncertain times.

Ambitious as I was, I enrolled in some online courses and started working towards achieving proficiency in different skills. Time taught me that this was easier said than done. With no assignments due or any exams coming up, something inside me tugged at my attention. It was a craving to enter the endless Netflix rabbit hole. The ease of pressing a few keys, lying down, and just watching tempted me every time I came across a hard problem.

Reading Deep Work by Cal Newport helped me get rid of myopia and made me realize what truly was going on. Back in college, I had left some shows incomplete to focus on academics, and extracurriculars. Now, with an ample amount of time at my disposal, I could feel my mind yearning for closure for the characters in these shows. Somehow, their well-being connected to my well-being. Their sense of peace became my sense of peace. But, as you may know, the characters gain peace in the very last episode: the series finale. Have you ever wondered why is that? Instead of giving closure in a season finale, why do they leave you with a ‘cliffhanger’? It is because they want you to keep watching. As you watch, you are slowly being constructed as the protagonist. You enter this virtual world where you identify with the main character and embark on journeys together. I couldn’t stop watching the series until the very end. Even after the series finale, I had this feeling of being incomplete, of purposelessness.

The psychological strategy used by the TV industry is called the Zeigarnik effect. This effect is a human tendency to remember unfinished tasks better than completed tasks. The show creators make use of this tendency and place you in a virtual world where you can face obstacles, overcome them, form strong (virtual) relationships, and maybe even save the world. Now, ask yourself: what is more exciting- solving a hard problem or saving the world? If you have to leave your show before this exciting journey has ended, what do you think you will think about when you get bored?

Watching TV shows alters our sense of reality. It makes us feel part of something greater by just lying on our beds and staring at a screen.

1. Be Intentional

Intention governs all our actions, but we often fail to recognize its power. When you deeply ruminate about why you are watching, you will uncover your intentions lurking in your subconscious. You will question how the act of watching is adding value to you. When I introspected, I found that I was just traversing the path of least resistance and eschewing real hard work. I realized that instead of using the immense cognitive power I was gifted with for being born a human, I was allowing my senses to control me. This introspection forced me to confront the hollowness within me.

2. Think About the Creator’s Purpose

Put yourself in the place of the creators of TV shows. Naturally, you would feel the urge to proliferate your show. You would want everyone to talk about it. How do you achieve this? By creating a gripping plot and crafting an engaging storyline to addict people to your show. You would come to realize how the creators seek to capitalize on the viewers’ attention. For them, the viewers’ experience of the show matters more than its consequences on the viewers’ life. Knowing the purpose of creators helped me understand how my attention was being monetized and escape the matrix of TV shows.

3. Add Friction

This is perhaps the most direct and effective way to distance yourself from the virtual world of TV shows. By adding friction, I mean you can make the process of accessing TV shows hard or maybe impossible. Ask a friend to change your Netflix password. Sign a contract with your trainer to share your new password after you finish five consecutive days of jogging 5 km. Maybe even consider canceling your subscription to streaming sites. Instead of having the ease of opening a new tab and opening your streaming website, you will need to work hard and earn your streaming time. Your mind will learn to associate streaming as a reward. However, it is important to know that adding friction is only effective if you manage to change the way you think about streaming. Unless you confront your intentions and rationalize why you need to change them, adding friction will only be effective in the short run. You should aim for achieving a stage where the presence of friction does not matter, where you can confidently make a rational choice.

4. Focus on the Benefits of Not Streaming

An obvious question that entails the discussion of streaming is what you should do if you are not streaming. If you were streaming to take a break from work, how can you do so with the time you have now? Instead of streaming, I began engaging myself in the real world. Although I was limited in the outdoor activities I could do given the severe pandemic conditions, I tried to maximize the time I would spend video calling my friends and family. I started delving inside the world of books in search of knowledge. I began being more intentional about my time and more mindful of what was happening around me. Once I could see the positive consequences of not streaming, I couldn’t return to the illusory virtual world of streaming.

When I look back, I feel surprised by the sheer amount of benefits I experienced as a consequence of just making one choice: not streaming. Now I don’t have the thought of streaming nagging at my attention. When I work, I work with full focus. When I rest, I enjoy to the fullest. Even if I am watching a movie, I will rationalize my decision and be intentional about it.

By overcoming the urge to stream, I have begun appreciating the million small things that make life beautiful.