What does it really say about you if you love reality TV, comedy classics, or can’t resist true crime?
The answer may not be what you expected.
Several scientific studies have investigated the personality traits associated with different television genres and viewing habits, and have come up with some surprising associations.
True crime fans, for example, tend not to be violent. In fact, they are probably the opposite: they are very empathetic.
Here’s what your TV habits say about you, according to science:
It’s bad news if you binge
People who watch television excessively may end up eating unhealthy, behaving antisocially, and performing poorly at work or school, according to a study.
Stranger Things: People who binge-watch shows may end up underperforming at work (Getty)
Binge watchers tend to be people with poor impulse control and a tendency to not plan; Some watchers watch up to 20 episodes at a time, according to a Polish study.
Researchers interviewed 645 people between the ages of 18 and 30 to find out why they consumed multiple episodes in one sitting.
Up to 20 percent of the group admitted to watching between six and 20 episodes at a time, and researchers suggest that these hardcore binge-watchers are using television to escape reality.
Jolanta Starosta, lead author, said: “It may be related to the fact that problematic viewers engage in binge-watching television series mainly because they want to escape from their daily life problems and regulate emotions.”
True crime fan? You are a lover, not a fighter.
From American Nightmare to Don’t F**k With Cats, Netflix and other TV streaming services have become go-to places for true crime shows.
True crime shows like Dahmer have become huge hits.
Half of Americans say they enjoy true crime, but it’s women driving the trend: 58 percent of women enjoy true crime compared to 42 percent of men, according to a YouGov study.
For women, previous research has suggested that they hope to learn how to avoid the same fate and empathize with victims.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that women chose entertainment with female victims and explored the killer’s motives.
Previous research in 2010 in Social Psychology and Personality Science suggested that women are drawn to true crime entertainment to watch for warning signs and learn “escape tips.”
The authors say it’s possible that true crime fans will enter a vicious cycle in which their favorite entertainment scares them even more, leading them to consume more true crime.
Authors Amanda M. Vicary and R. Chris Fraley wrote: “Women, compared to men, have a greater fear of crime even though they are less likely to become victims.”
Dramas and soap operas: you are a person who has relationships
Watching TV dramas like One Day could have major implications for your real-life love life, according to a 2019 study.
The study led by Valerie Kretz found that, unlike previous research, watching television series predicted that fans believed in love and that their real relationships would be stronger.
The same applies to soap opera fans, Kretz’s research found.
TV dramas like One Day could have major implications for your love life
Kretz wrote: “Watching television series could foster the belief that men and women vary dramatically in their needs, which is also considered maladaptive.” Therefore, by fostering maladaptive beliefs, watching television dramas could undermine relationship satisfaction.
“In the present study, watching television series was associated with greater relationship satisfaction.”
If you watch reality TV shows…
Watching reality shows like Squid Game: The Challenge could mean that you’re trying to live “through” the characters, and not always in a good way.
Do you like reality shows like Squid Game: The Challenge?
Research by Ohio State University found that people try to satisfy their basic urges by watching reality shows, and that our reasons for doing so include our real-life motives.
On the positive side, people who like reality TV are often motivated by their own desire to be sociable and even have a romance.
But on the other hand, people also enjoy these shows because of their own desires for status and revenge, according to the study.
The researchers wrote: ‘By far the largest significant effect was due to status. The more reality shows a person liked, the more status-oriented they were.
‘The second most important significant difference concerned the basic motive of revenge. People who watched and enjoyed reality shows valued revenge more than people who didn’t watch those shows.’
“People who liked two or more reality shows on our list tended to be more motivated by social life, less motivated by honor, more concerned with order, and more motivated by romance, compared to those who did not. “they saw nothing of reality.” TV shows on our list.’
If you stream old favorite shows
What does it say about you when you find old favorite shows, like Friends, on streaming services and watch them over and over again?
It could mean that you feel alone.
Streaming old favorites like Friends can mean you’re feeling lonely
Research has shown that loneliness can lead us to watch old favorite shows and that doing so actually makes us feel safe against falling self-esteem and feelings of rejection.
Research published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in 2009 suggested that rewatching our favorite television shows makes us feel less alone.
The researchers wrote that the study “demonstrated that people report turning to their favorite television shows when they feel lonely and feeling less lonely when they watch those shows.”