Manu Joseph: How entertainment got boring in the age of streaming

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A few weeks ago, I read a headline in The Guardian: “Is Netflix deliberately dumbing down TV so people can watch while scrolling?" I had to read the rest of the article, even though I knew that if a newspaper asks a question in the headline, it means it doesn’t know the answer—otherwise, the answer would be the headline. Also, theories about the complex manipulation of human behaviour by a company are usually exaggerations.

Indeed, the article could not substantiate its premise. But no one disputes that people scroll while watching something and that they are generally bored with both typical streaming fare and what they are scrolling through. They are bored with the distraction as well as what is distracting them from that distraction.

How did entertainment get so boring? It is the general view of people around me that there is nothing on TV. Just like before. These are people who do not take themselves too seriously, who are not ashamed to admit that they do not enjoy reading.

They speak honestly. And they watch a lot of TV. They used to enjoy entertainment more in a distant past they cannot pinpoint, but what they do know is that they watch TV now because there is nothing else they can do.

Now and then, they do find something fascinating to watch, but even that rare spark usually fades after the first episode or so, and then it’s all downhill. So, what’s going on? Why is it that the entire world is desperate to waste time, and entire companies have sprung up to help them, spending billions, and yet people say they are bored with streaming platforms? At first glance, the answer may appear to be obvious: there is something wrong with “the content." There is vast oversupply today. And