Why we rewatched our favorite TV shows and movies during the pandemic
Laughing When We Should be Crying
“I declare bankruptcy!” Michael Scott shouted to his indifferent employees in the season four episode of The Office (US)titled, “Money.” Michael acted on advice that all he needed to be free from his crippling debt was to “declare bankruptcy” which the obtuse manager understood as just making a public declaration. Michael’s naïve announcement made people laugh when they really wanted to cry. It was spring 2020 and we were at the beginning of a worldwide pandemic.
Confined to our homes, many of us turned to our TVs as a substitute for in-person connections. Specifically, viewers rewatched their favorite TV shows and movies. For example, The Office (US) was the most streamed TV show in 2020 at 57 billion minutes (Spangler, 2021). Other titles weren’t even close. Grey’s Anatomy took the number two spot at 39.4 billion minutes. The success of The Office was more than just a win for a show that had wrapped ten years previously. Pandemic rewatching programs such as Gilmore Girls, Schitt’s Creek, New Girl, and Blackish showed the popularity of reruns especially during the pandemic.
COVID-19 brought unprecedented stress and change. The public was initially told that the virus would be short-lived. This idea was soon abandoned as weeks turned into months of social distancing, mask mandates, working-from-home, school cancelations, shelter-in-place orders, shortages and more. Cut off from family and friends we waited for the “all clear.” The pandemic took a toll on mental health worldwide as everyone struggled to adjust to a new normal. Chen and colleagues (2021) reviewed mental health data during the COVID-19 pandemic and reported overall increases in depression, anxiety, insomnia, and feeling socially disconnected. People felt lonely quarantining and prolonged isolation led to uncertainty and depression. These findings worried clinicians who understood that extended feelings of loneliness promoted an increase in the risk of suicide.
Need to Belong
In 1995 social psychologists Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary published their landmark article on the belongingness hypothesis, arguing that human beings have a need to belong that is just as critical as food and water. Previously, psychologists such as Abraham Maslow positioned the need to belong only after other needs related to survival were met. Baumeister and Leary declared that the need to belong was fundamental, universal, and stood on its own as a genuine human desire. Belonging has its own unique psychological benefits. But when we don’t feel a sense of belonging there are corresponding symptoms such as loneliness and rejection which may lead to other issues.
Social Surrogacy
Not only does the belongingness hypothesis mean that we crave connection, but it also suggests human beings will go to unconventional lengths to meet that need. In the same way someone who has spent time lost in a forest without food and water becomes sharply aware of uncommon food sources such as raw vegetation, fish, and animals, people find unique ways to feel connected when their sense of belonging is threatened. This is the basis for the social surrogacy hypothesis which suggests people can find a measure of belonging from other sources than from human-to-human contact.
One of the ways people can connect to a social surrogate is through watching TV shows and movies. We often form parasocial or one-sided connections with the characters in our favorite content. This means we perceive these characters or celebrities as friends or people we would like to be more like in some way. Audiences can form parasocial connections to any media figure from animated characters to A-list celebrities or athletes. It is a natural part of our cognitive and social development to make these associations.
Reruns as Social Surrogates
In 2008 Jaye Derrick, Shira Gabriel, and Kurt Hugenberg published groundbreaking research on using favorite TV shows as social surrogates in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. They found that people can not only experience belonging while viewing favored programming but just thinking about one’s favorite show can provide a hedge against feelings of rejection, threats to self-esteem, and negative mood changes.
Social surrogacy comes into play when we rewatch our favorite TV shows and movies connecting to our parasocial relationships. It’s like visiting with a friend you haven’t seen in a while or spending time with a mentor who gives you sage advice that you may already know but need to hear again. Sometimes just the sound of their voice brings reassurance.
During the pandemic people were looking for comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be okay. Since many were barred from in person contact, they found this support in rewatching reruns of their favorite programs. They discovered a social surrogate while rewatching Friends, Family Matters, Family Guy, NCIS, and many more. To some the programming may have seemed like mere escapism. This would be benefit enough, since many needed a distraction from the daily uncertainty. But more than just an escape, TV and films provided rescue. Connecting with familiar characters and retracing storylines reinforced our identities and emphasized our values.
Hedonic Pleasure versus Eudaimonic Meaning Making
Shows such as The Big Bang Theory offered hedonic (huh·daa·nuhk) pleasure through connection to quirky characters and relatable storylines of humorous interpersonal strife. We laughed and it made us feel better. But it wasn’t just what viewers saw on these shows but what they didn’t see that brought a sense of safety: namely the pandemic. This is not new. In the direct aftermath of the September 11th terror attack in 2001 there was a sharp uptick in viewership of Friends reruns. Set in New York City, Friends depicted the entertaining lives of six people who were devoted to each other but often found themselves in humorously complicated circumstances. When the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center fell audiences tuned in not only to see their “friends” but also to return to a safe reality that had forever been altered in the real world. We needed Friends in the wake of tragedy not only for the humor and connection but also for the feeling of normalcy.
Other types of programming such as police procedurals (e.g. Law and Order, NCIS, Columbo) were popular for a different reason during the pandemic. These shows depicted injustice being challenged at a time when many saw abuse and inequality everywhere and felt powerless to intercede. Often these shows portray hard working but flawed characters, bringing justice in some way (usually after a murder) within about an hour. The drama in these programs can lead us to eudaimonic (you-dih-mon-ik) appreciation where we can make meaning from the story. Confined during COVID-19 lockdowns, many turned to dramas to help make sense of their own lack of control. These shows give us hope that justice will be served, wrongs will be righted, and that it won’t take as long as we think.
Far from a panacea, rewatching our favorite content will not fix all our psychological and social issues. There are limits to social surrogacy. Human-to-human contact is ideal. However, social surrogacy can help, especially in times of crisis when we feel separated from others. In addition, social surrogacy can motivate us to make and maintain real world connections. Parasocial relationships can become practice for real world contact.
What was your favorite TV show or movie to rewatch during the pandemic?
Who were your favorite characters? Why?
Did watching your favorite reruns help you or your family during pandemic lockdown?
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Partial Reference List
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497–529. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497
Chen, P. J., Pusica, Y., Sohaei, D., Prassas, I., & Diamandis, E. P. (2021). An overview of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Diagnosis, 8(4), 403-412. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202103.0217.v1
Derrick, J. L., Gabriel, S., & Hugenberg, K. (2009). Social surrogacy: How favored television programs provide the experience of belonging. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45(2), 352-362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.12.003
Spangler, T. (2021, January 12). ‘The Office’ was by far the most-streamed TV show in 2020, Nielsen says. Variety.com. https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/the-office-most-streamed-tv-show-2020-nielsen-1234883822/
The Office. (2017, July 26). I declare bankruptcy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-m3RtoguAQ