Rubbish TV: Why We’re Hooked on Bad Shows & Guilty Pleasures

We’ve all been there. Staring into the abyss of endless scrolling, committing to a series not because we *want* to, but because the platform demands completion. Imogen West-Knights’ experience – hating a show yet relentlessly pursuing its 177 episodes – isn’t a personal failing, it’s a symptom of a larger cultural shift in how we consume entertainment. It’s a testament to the insidious power of “hyperconsumption” engineered by streaming services.

Professor Craig Jackson of Birmingham City University frames this as a compulsion, not necessarily an addiction, but the distinction feels increasingly academic. The industry has weaponized our completionist tendencies. Think about the progress bars, the “next episode” auto-play, the carefully curated recommendations designed to keep you locked in. This isn’t about providing entertainment; it’s about maximizing engagement metrics. It’s about data, and ultimately, about subscription retention.

This phenomenon also speaks to a broader anxiety about choice. The sheer volume of content available on streaming services can be paralyzing. Rewatching offers a comforting predictability, a safe harbor from the “hit or miss” gamble of discovering something new. It’s a retreat into the familiar, and platforms are more than happy to facilitate it, even if the viewer isn’t particularly enjoying the experience. The satisfaction, it seems, lies not in the journey, but in the checkmark.

We’re likely to see this trend accelerate. As streaming wars intensify, platforms will become even more aggressive in their attempts to capture and hold our attention. Expect more gamification, more personalized recommendations, and more subtle psychological nudges designed to keep us bingeing, even when we hate it. The question isn’t whether we’ll continue to fall into this trap, but how much control we’re willing to relinquish to the algorithms.