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Nursing freshman Elizabeth Benitez said she was frustrated when “The Vampire Diaries” left Netflix in early September. It’s been a comfort show for her since middle school, and whenever she’s feeling stressed, she’ll come back for an episode or two.
By the summer, Benitez said she had completed the entire series three times. She tries to start from scratch every time, but she tends to skip episodes.
“It has everything. It has a little effect [and] romantic. It has its funny moments, so that’s why I love it,” she said.
But what exactly is a comfort program?
The origin of the term has no clear origin. In recent years, however, the phrase has popped up on the internet, especially during the pandemic — whether it’s checking someone’s Twitter thread talking about their favorite comfort show, or Time Magazine’s Top 16 list.
in 2020 Oprah Daily Elena Nicolaou, the publication’s culture editor at the time, defined the concept as a “feel-good show” [that] Provide escape from stressful times in familiar ways. Cozy TV shows are usually the ones you watch over and over, so when you come back, it’s like hanging out with old friends. ”
It all comes down to psychology.
When people become more stressed, they have to exercise cognitive control and start to minimize effort, says psychology professor Daniel Levine. So people want to do things that they know will reduce stress and make them feel good.
“Cognitive control is like a muscle, and if you use it a lot, you’ll want to take a break after a while,” says Levine.
A comfortable TV show also doesn’t have to be fun or easy or follow any rules. On the Internet, people share a wide variety of comfort TV shows—whether it’s low-risk, high-reward comedies like “Ster Creek” and “Parks and Recreation”; decades-old sitcoms like ” Seinfeld” and “The Golden Girls”; or gloomy, dark shows like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Twilight.”
They have nothing in common other than sharing the tag “TV Shows”.
People’s favorite genres are unique and personal, Levine said. He uses music as an example. Some people like classical, some people like 60’s soft rock and other heavy metal.
Education junior Fernanda Reyes said she’s been returning to “Jersey Shore” and its spin-off series for a decade. The series is based on reality and follows the mundane lives of several New Jersey 20-somethings and their respective friends or lovers.
The party scene on the show first caught her eye in middle school because she wanted to be like them. But Reyes said she would keep coming back to the show to watch the show, or whenever there was gossip about it on TikTok, even if she felt it was no longer relevant.
“I’m more worried [the characters], and then I don’t focus on my own business. I just drink their tea,” she said.
TV shows can also provide a sense of nostalgia, which is often comforting. Throughout 2020, many Americans were drawn to classics like “Friends,” “Family Matters,” “The Golden Girl,” and “Two and a Half Men,” with 2,340 total viewing hours, according to Nielsen. million minutes. Focus on audience measurement, data and analytics.
Pamela Rutledge, director of the Center for Media Psychology and a media psychologist, told us that when people become familiar with a show, they develop a connection to the characters, which makes them feel more comfortable. NPR 2020.
“Our energy is kind of depleted by stress, so we’re really looking for something we can enjoy that doesn’t take more energy and actually strengthens or relaxes or allows us to escape and give us a little vacation instead of It takes our brains to work out what’s going on in a very complex plot,” Rutledge said.
When people find fun in their favorite form of entertainment, they may worry about losing or not having fun trying new things, Levine said.
According to Psychology Today, despite what it may seem, starting a new show requires a lot of mental work — learning new characters, remembering plot clues, predicting what to expect and potentially unpleasant turns. Yet there is no guesswork, suspense, or nervous anticipation when watching an old favorite show.
This process is called the mere exposure effect – the more time a person is exposed to something, including TV shows, the more likely they are to like it later. It increases the ease of processing information in subsequent experiences as they continue to be exposed. Because it’s easy to handle, it increases positive emotions and makes everything easier to handle.
So if you find yourself watching The Office again this weekend, don’t feel bad about it. Also, if you hear someone tell you they’re rerunning Friends for the 73rd time, don’t roll your eyes. Do yourself a favor by giving your brain a break, and in the end, you’ll love what you’re watching.
This is comforting. is self-care.
@DangHLe
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