Why watching TV shows is useful and how to do it right

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The main thing is moderation.

How TV shows make our lives easier

There are several reasons, and some of them may seem unexpected to you.

Laughter is a good weapon against stress

Under stress, the body is in tension - both physically and mentally. This is preparation for an immediate response to a stimulus. At such a moment, our state can be compared to a spring mechanism.

For example, we want the device to forcefully push the ball out when we press the lever. To do this, you need to compress the spring so that at the right moment it straightens up with force. In a stressful situation, a person is like such a spring in anticipation of a trigger. But he risks either breaking off at any moment, or remaining in a compressed state, without waiting for a signal, and suffering.

Laughter is the easiest way to relax, relieve tension, while not damaging anything around. The body itself uses this method in difficult situations. You probably know how it happens when, at the most alarming moment, not conducive to laughter, a person suddenly begins to giggle and cannot help himself. This is a reaction to stress.

Laughter brings relief. And it is not so important what caused it. It's just that sitcoms are literally made to give you something to giggle about. This is a legal way to quickly improve your mood, lower the levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, and increase the joy hormone endorphin.

Ekaterina Legostaeva Ph. D., transactional analyst, hypnologist, expert of the Smart online institute.

When explaining the effect of serials, one should rely on physiology and psychophysiology. The main factor of influence here is the work of mirror neurons. By watching others laugh, we receive a specific stimulus focused on the physiological response of relief. Laughter is an exhalation with a release of tension, muscular and mental. Therefore, in many TV series illustrating recognizable everyday situations, the background laughter of the audience is practiced behind the scenes.

However, laughter is now exploited not only by sitcoms. A good dose of humor is considered necessary to add to dramatic narratives.

Happy end gives hope

Of course, in our lifetime we have seen all sorts of series finals. For example, many fans of the sitcom How I Met Your Mother prefer to believe that the last episode never existed because they didn't like the ending. But for the most part, TV shows end well. The scriptwriters prefer not to leave the heroes loved by the audience at a crossroads and complete their lines with quite concrete happiness. Which, of course, is nice.

Ekaterina Legostaeva

In the situation of the series, the process of living is an important factor: from an exacerbation of tension through a climax to a predictable happy ending. In today's unstable world, this becomes a particularly significant factor, a comforting signal that "someday it will get easier."

TV shows help you find answers to difficult questions

Even if it happens in some candy kingdom or on another planet, the heroes, as a rule, are very similar to us. They find themselves in recognizable situations, perhaps a little exaggerated. And this is beneficial.

Olga Chalikova PhD in Psychology, Associate Professor of the Higher Attestation Commission, expert of the Smart online institute.

I consider watching TV series as a variant of logotherapy - a search for meanings both for individual situations and for life in general. Art plays the role of a mediator between people in the transfer of images. The artist, creating an image, puts a certain set of meanings into it. It often reflects the tendencies that soar in the masses, and gives them shape.

The viewer, perceiving what the artist has created, finds resonance with his semantic sphere, clarifying for himself some aspects of life. Finding meaning is one of the best ways out of a stressful situation and stopping its consequences.

TV shows give a sense of stability

The series imitate life: the plot does not end for a long time and is carried over from episode to episode. This creates a sense of stability, which is so important in a stressful situation.

Olga Chalikova

There are TV shows (like Supernatural) that an entire generation has grown up on. No matter what happens, there will be a new series, which means that life goes on.

Problems arise and are solved, and the characters continue to live on until the next episode. This conclusion is very useful for the psyche: any problem can be solved, and then nothing ends. It can be applied to a life that looks more like a TV show than a full-length film.

Watching TV shows provokes activity

Their plots are brighter than everyday life. They carry away and distract from the routine, satisfy the need for vivid emotions. Discussions of episodes become an occasion for new content: fan theories are created, analyzes at different levels and even videos about how people watch the show. And this also turns into a part of mass culture: the plot is constantly reproduced and gives rise to more and more informational reasons. And any activity is a good antidote to stress.

TV shows expand the circle of communication

Many people love them. And even if you're not a fan, watching an episode instills certain values in you. A kind of interest groups are being formed. There is always something to talk about with a stranger. This becomes the basis for an additional social identity: "I've never watched Game of Thrones" or "I've watched The Clinic ten times (and I prefer to think it only has eight seasons)."

Each group has its own cultural codes, by which representatives recognize each other: catch phrases, names of characters. The same person can be present in several fandoms at once. Belonging to these groups is one of the easiest ways to make friends in adulthood. After all, you have common interests, so it's easy to start communication. And friendships can help you deal with stress.

Why uncontrolled content consumption can be harmful

Sounds great and tempts to sit in front of the TV and start a serial marathon. But here, as in everything, you need to know when to stop.

Olga Chalikova

The series is a fiction, a figment of the imagination of the creators. As much as he looks like life, he is not. Removing the current stress with their help, the viewer runs the risk of falling into a trap: losing self-identity and the meaning of his unique life. It's easy to get lost in fictional worlds. But the point is not in the series themselves, but in our ability to competently use their resources to solve our problems, without crossing the dangerous line.

Psychiatrist Mikhail Valuisky is more categorical and does not believe that serials should be considered as a way to deal with stress seriously. In his opinion, they can be viewed constructively and destructively. It's fun and rewarding to do this with someone while chatting about what's happening on the screen. Shared leisure brings people together and creates the energy of community. But there is also a destructive option.

Mikhail Valuisky Psychiatrist, psychotherapist.

In this case, the person tries to score with the series all his time. And even with someone he looks at it not from the position of "we look together", but in order not to quarrel, not to fulfill plans, and so on.

The series turns into one of the manifestations of the general mechanism of avoidance. We are not really struggling with stress, but we close our eyes to its existence: "I did not notice the stress because I watched the series." But avoidance doesn't work. It helps to cope with current stress, but it does not prepare you for recurrence. One evening we took up a series. But tomorrow will be evening too. And the day after tomorrow. And a person, instead of facing a problem, runs away into something else. Someone is drinking, someone is watching TV shows, and so on.

You need to approach this consciously. Watch the series, laugh, cry. But if a person does this without stopping, without controlling himself, if without this he feels bad, then, probably, something is wrong in his life.

How to take serials in therapeutic doses

To make sure shows are beneficial, not harmful, it's worth establishing rules.

Do not violate the regime

TV shows take time, and it's easiest to steal from sleep. And now the clock is already three nights, and you still promise yourself: another series - and sleep. But lack of sleep is bad for your health and is itself a source of stress for the body. Sleep is a basic need that must be satisfied first of all.

Don't waste all your time on TV shows

The average person does not have many free minutes on weekdays. There are approximately 4-5 hours between returning from work and going to bed. This is not so much considering that you need to solve everyday problems, engage in physical activity, spend time with your family, and so on. It is easy to fit one medium series of 40 minutes into the schedule, combining it with something that does not require concentration. But three or more can be a problem: they take too much time.

Therefore, it is better to determine the number of hours that you are ready to devote to TV shows, so that this is not to the detriment of yourself. Moreover, if you don't meet a deadline due to watching the show, or you just feel guilty, this will only exacerbate the stress.

Remember that TV shows are fiction

If the show is interesting, the line between fantasy and reality gets blurred very easily. People even manage to fall in love with characters or seriously try on incredible situations from the show for life. But nevertheless, it is worth realizing that any plot is the result of creativity, which lives by slightly different laws and where everything is possible. For example, the instant transformation of an irresponsible villain into a sweetheart and a selfless hero.

Analyze what is happening on the screen

Let there be a lot of conventions in the series, but the characters often find themselves in quite recognizable life situations. And this is a great excuse to learn from other people's mistakes and notice good solutions to some problems. TV shows generally provide a lot of food for introspection: why do you like that character, and not this one, with whom you associate yourself, what you would have done in the hero's place.

Olga Chalikova

Psychologists have long used materials from TV series to work with people. The most popular is the analysis of episodes in accordance with the task of the client or group. The series "Patients" and "Doctor House" are generally a visual aid in teaching students of psychological faculties. If you wish, you can make a list of psychological problems in which it is recommended to watch this or that series, or, conversely, is strictly prohibited.

Using the example of vivid serial images, it is easier to convey information about the client's situation. It becomes less tense if we are not discussing our acute pain or fear, but with the help of the series we look at all this as if from the outside. This technique contributes to a better understanding and alignment of the emotional background. The thinking client will take the opportunity to draw a parallel and find a way out for himself on his own.

If possible, watch the series with someone

Moreover, the key word is "together", just sitting next to it is not enough. Mikhail Valuisky spoke exhaustively above about why this is useful.

Don't ignore sitcoms

Laughter can brighten up the saddest day. And snobbery is inappropriate here: the efficiency of sitcoms in dealing with stress is perhaps higher than that of the most ingenious drama without a single joke. Because laughter works on a physiological level.

This article was published in April 2018. In September 2021, we updated the text.