Pop culture has long served as the baton of social currency—whether you are bonding over your favourite Schitt’s Creek catchphrase with a coworker on your first day at work or using the were-Ross-and-Rachel-really-on-a-break debate as an icebreaker at a party. And with a global pandemic striking all outdoor activities off our social calendars, it has also morphed into our preferred coping mechanism. The proof lies in the numbers—The Office, a workplace mockumentary that wound up its final season almost a decade ago in 2013, clocked in over 87 million minutes of viewership in the year 2020 alone, according to a report by market intelligence firm Nielsen. So what is inspiring us to keep hitting the play button on stories that we have adequately memorised by now? The experts believe that there could be a deeper psychological phenomenon at play.
“Uncertainty is anxiety’s fuel,” says Lucy Spicer, a London-based psychological coach. She further explains, “A lot of anxious thoughts are future-focused and the pandemic brought a significant lack of control over what the future would look like. Given this backdrop, it is unsurprising that we looked for security, familiarity and routine in our everyday lives to gain a sense of control. Sameness and repetition can help reduce anxiety as we can have an existing knowledge of how things are likely to be and, in turn, dial back uncertainty and worry. We can watch what we know over and over again without any surprises, thereby giving us the control and predictability we need in an unpredictable global situation.”
The sentiment is echoed by Tanya Percy Vasunia, a Mumbai-based psychologist and published researcher, who describes the phenomenon as a method for self-soothing during uncertain times—almost like catching up with long-lost friends. She says, “When you know what’s going to happen, it can be extremely soothing. Using your favourite TV shows as an escape is a relaxing exercise because these characters are dear to you.” She also believes that the iconic catchphrases that these shows spawn can serve as a form of self-expression. “People who struggle with expressing themselves often tend to take on characteristics from the characters they love—for instance, when someone says, ‘Joey doesn’t share food’ when talking about their habits or ‘May I interest you in a sarcastic comment?’ like Chandler Bing. These small mechanisms can help you express emotions that have previously been difficult to express,” she says.