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Do you ever find yourself paralysed by choice?

  • 14-07-2020 4:59pm
    #1
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 36,787 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    I'm one of those people who's quite bad for trying new things. However, since Netflix and Amazon Prime along with other providers have so much content I feel like I should try and watch more films.

    What I find though is that I'll spend forever looking up IMDB scores in the evening. So much so that I'll just end up turning in and not watching anything.

    Does anyone else have this problem? I usually enjoy what I choose to watch on the odd occasions that I actually make a choice. Just that making the choice takes a long time.

    We sat again for an hour and a half discussing maps and figures and always getting back to that most damnable creation of the perverted ingenuity of man - the County of Tyrone.

    H. H. Asquith



Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,943 ✭✭✭Banjaxed82


    Absolutely. Even worse, I'll watch something for 5 minutes, get bored/distracted and switch off. Another reason why I miss the cinema experience. You choose the film, get in there, sit down, shoot the fook up and see you in 2 hours.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭lucalux


    Totally have the auld analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing movies or series.

    One thing that helps me is checking what's about to be removed from Netflix, and working from there. Narrows things down to a less overwhelming list and the time pressure helps me stick to it.

    https://uk.newonnetflix.info/lastchance


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 35,723 CMod ✭✭✭✭pixelburp


    It's very common. In our household we call it the Netflix Dance where we spend 30 minutes flicking through the bazillion options before settling on a tried and tested. We don't do it as often as before since I started keeping tabs on releases but it's a quintessential case of the Agony of Choice, a first world problem for sure.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,445 ✭✭✭Rodney Bathgate


    Amazon Prime has lots of films with a < 5 IMDB rating. I occasionally think to myself ‘how bad can it be’ and watch some crap. Last night I started watching ‘Stripped to Kill’. It is crap but I will finish it later this evening.


  • Registered Users Posts: 28,725 ✭✭✭✭CastorTroy


    For me, I have a habit of going by duration. So go through them and see how long each is then end up finding a shorter one and decide I'm not in the mood for the type of film it is.
    The majority of the time, once I choose I have no problem watching it and I know that. Still I take my time, then it's too late and start again the next day


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  • Registered Users Posts: 10,288 ✭✭✭✭branie2


    No


  • Registered Users Posts: 502 ✭✭✭Full_Circle_81


    lucalux wrote: »
    Totally have the auld analysis paralysis when it comes to choosing movies or series.

    One thing that helps me is checking what's about to be removed from Netflix, and working from there. Narrows things down to a less overwhelming list and the time pressure helps me stick to it.

    https://uk.newonnetflix.info/lastchance

    I used to use that a lot too, but sometimes it doesn't get updated till the last minute and you can still miss out on titles right before they vanish.

    I do be so paranoid about missing out on titles, that I tend to leave Netflix and Amazon original content till later and focus on the stuff that could potentially disappear at some point, even if those titles aren't as appealing. The latest one I'm trying to gear myself to watch at some point is Reality Bites, but can't seem to get into the mood....

    But even at that, it can still take me a long time to decide what to watch.
    Its usually a choice of Netflix, Amazon, what I've recorded off the telly and I'd also rent a movie once a week too :pac:


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,422 ✭✭✭flasher0030


    I'm one of those people who's quite bad for trying new things. However, since Netflix and Amazon Prime along with other providers have so much content I feel like I should try and watch more films.

    What I find though is that I'll spend forever looking up IMDB scores in the evening. So much so that I'll just end up turning in and not watching anything.

    Does anyone else have this problem? I usually enjoy what I choose to watch on the odd occasions that I actually make a choice. Just that making the choice takes a long time.


    I used to be that soldier. Reading up reviews and then all of a sudden it's 10 bells and I want to watch a film that 2 hrs. Throw in a few fag breaks. And it means 12.30 finish. Then I don't enjoy it cause I'm thinking it's a bit late cause I'm getting up for work in the morning.

    Not any more. Now I take an hour or 2 during the day on a Saturday or Sunday. Do a google for best action films ever, or best dramas ever, best horrors ever. I do a review of some of the top ones to see what I think will suit me best. Then I check if there are on netflix or some other streaming site that I can get my hands on. And I make my list of films to watch for the week. I've a bit OCD on it now in that I have the running time beside each film so I know when it will finish - in case I get delayed watching it.
    It's more exciting if there's something that you really want to watch. Rather than coming home from work, eating, dealing with whatever needs to be done for the evening, and then thinking "what will I watch".


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,130 ✭✭✭lucalux


    I used to use that a lot too, but sometimes it doesn't get updated till the last minute and you can still miss out on titles right before they vanish.

    I do be so paranoid about missing out on titles, that I tend to leave Netflix and Amazon original content till later and focus on the stuff that could potentially disappear at some point, even if those titles aren't as appealing. The latest one I'm trying to gear myself to watch at some point is Reality Bites, but can't seem to get into the mood....

    But even at that, it can still take me a long time to decide what to watch.
    Its usually a choice of Netflix, Amazon, what I've recorded off the telly and I'd also rent a movie once a week too :pac:

    It's not perfect I agree, but I find it helps me narrow things down sometimes. I'll have something on my list that I'll be on the fence about, and seeing that it's leaving soon will get me off the fence and watching it!

    I'm the same with the Netflix originals too, I'll leave them until I can't find something else to watch. No pressure with them at least!


  • Registered Users Posts: 13,439 ✭✭✭✭briany


    The way to defeat this is to avoid menu browsing altogether. Browse lists instead! No, but what I mean is that browsing VoD menus when it comes time to watch a film is always going to be fraught with the paradox of choice and it just puts you into a very apathetic state as you listlessly flick through a never ending rotation of thumbnails and snappy descriptions. I think it's far more engaging to google around and find little specially curated lists on forums such as this by real people. The big fat movie lists that IMDB users put together are great because you can filter them down by genre, rating, year etc., and then you have the random recommendations from film lovers that you'd never find on some Netflix menu. Hopefully this leaves with a shortlist which you can use to avoid menu hell altogether.


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