The time we dedicate to deciding what to watch in streaming does not stop going up: Why does it happen to us?

Being in front of our television, opening the different streaming services to which we are subscribed and spending minutes deciding what to watch is a habit to which we dedicate more and more time and energy.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
31 August 2023 Thursday 11:00
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The time we dedicate to deciding what to watch in streaming does not stop going up: Why does it happen to us?

Being in front of our television, opening the different streaming services to which we are subscribed and spending minutes deciding what to watch is a habit to which we dedicate more and more time and energy. To the point that sometimes our patience runs out and we go to bed without having started any playback. This phenomenon is directly linked to the increase in titles available on these platforms, according to a recent report.

According to data from the market research company Nielsen, the average time it takes someone to find something to watch on these streaming platforms has increased to more than 10 minutes, three more than in 2019, before the pandemic. Indecision blocks us. The phenomenon even has a name: decision fatigue.

The main cause of this fatigue is excess supply. Nielsen collects that the number of movies and series offered by these services has skyrocketed by 39% in the last two years, leaving a total of 2.35 million titles on platforms such as Netflix, HBO. Amazon Prime or Disney.

According to the market research company, this is also due to the growth in recent years due to the expansion of free and ad-supported streaming services, such as Pluto and Tubi, and is expected to continue after the announcement of the launch of specific channels such as Saturday Night Live and Top Chef.

Other interesting study data reflects that there are currently 167 streaming providers. This enormous number of services available to the average user is even more remarkable if we take into account that just two years ago there were 118 platforms.

On the other hand, specifically in the United States, 60% of the time dedicated to streaming corresponded to programs originally broadcast on conventional television, so the link between the two is more evident than it might seem.