How Watching TV Can Change Your Life for the Better

Debunking the cultural belief that TV is ‘a waste of time.’

Watching compelling television content, combined with engagement and reflection, can enrich our lives.

I’m not referring to educational shows. But to TV shows that are crafted to be entertaining, and yet expose audiences to moving ideas, issues that plague societies, or unite people from different walks of life.

The quality of TV series has soared in the last two decades, with a simultaneous surge in access — caused partly by the advent of online streaming services.

It’s ingrained in our culture that watching TV is an enormous waste of time (bound to turn you into a zombie or couch potato), but that’s an outdated, unjust misconception.

Here’s a list of functions that TV shows perform.

Provide abundant insight into humans

TV series frequently portray complex human behavior and multifaceted relationships.

Carefully forged TV characters can be astoundingly reminiscent of actual humans — when instilled with depth and some degree of consistency.

For example, BoJack Horseman, a satirical TV show about a humanoid horse, subtly depicts layered characters that are ironically, profoundly human.

TV shows, brimming with a wide variety of characters and their unique backstories, are a goldmine of data to examine and interpret.

Offer a window to explore world cultures

Most streaming services have collections of TV series from around the world, which provide glimpses of diverse foreign cultures.

We can avoid distorted depictions by choosing socially-conscious TV content rendered by filmmakers drawing from their own cultures.

Many TV shows represent diversity with nuance and specificity, avoiding shallow representations that perpetuate stereotypes (there’s room for improvement — but that’s a discussion for another day).

They’re not a hundred percent accurate, but some exposure to unfamiliar cultures is better than none.

Jumpstart our imagination

Storytelling, acting, soundtracks, and all the other chunks of a TV show — serve as sources of inspiration for our own creative projects, fashion choices, or even attributes we want to emulate (perhaps from an impressive character).

Tell captivating stories

There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place. — J.K. Rowling

The storytelling in TV shows blows me away. Every Black Mirror episode tells a suspenseful tale of techno-paranoia, relying on mystifying plotlines and brilliant cinematography. The OA is utterly bizarre and inventive, its sensational storytelling bursting with originality.

We love stories. Paul J. Zak, a neuroeconomist, uncovered why.

He discovered that character-driven stories trigger the release of oxytocin — a neurochemical dubbed “the love hormone.”

Oxytocin enhances our sense of empathy, generosity, and compassion. It makes us more sensitive to social cues and likelier to help others, encouraging social bonding.

Compelling stories also induce “narrative transportation” — where an engrossing story makes us emotionally resonate with the characters and transports us into that story’s world.

A chance to vicariously travel to space, fantasy lands, or even dystopian societies (not least of all to brood the parallels to our society)? Sign me up!

Start conversations

Increasingly, TV series depict social and mental health issues, amplifying awareness and inclusivity.

The third episode of Modern Love de-stigmatizes bipolar disorder in a poignant re-enactment of a woman diagnosed with the disease, an eyeopener for those who’ve had little exposure to it.

Numerous other shows seamlessly integrate social and political issues into their stories, including Girls (body image, abortion), Orange Is the New Black (social justice), Made in Heaven (homophobia), and Shameless (addiction and anxiety).

TV shows that present social issues with honesty and accuracy can be instrumental in educating and normalizing.

Make us laugh

We all know the sitcoms that make us howl with laughter because they’re hilarious, relatable, or downright strange. I’ll have That 70s Show with a side of Friends, please!

Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine. — Lord Byron

Bring people together

TV shows unite people in their love or hatred for characters. Joffrey from Game of Thrones is perhaps universally despised.

In the social media age, beloved TV series inspire fan pages, memes, and online threads that facilitate interactions between people from different corners of the world.

TV viewing is often a social activity too, where groups of people watch and engage with TV shows together (and reflect on how disappointing the final season of Game of Thrones was).

Final word

Equipped with several cinematic tools and sufficient screen-time to develop nuanced characters, TV shows can induce empathy, awareness, and social-bonding.

With one caveat: they can be problematic or absolute rubbish. Like any other content we consume, such as books, podcasts, or documentaries, the value we derive from them depends on their quality.

I’m also not suggesting that we watch TV until our eyes are red and watery (unless they’re red and watery for a different reason) — moderation is crucial for most activities, including watching TV.

Increased control over TV viewing (because we can stream on-demand now) means that it no longer diverts us from more pressing activities. Why shouldn’t we enjoy it guilt-free?

TV shows offer a wealth of excellent content — content that can change the world, or at least how we perceive it. Watching TV is far from a mindless pastime it’s accused of being.

So, tell me, which TV show enriches your life?