In today’s world, social media usage is the most popular online activityaccording to Statista, many have shifted away from the traditional practice of watching TV in front of a television set. Instead, watching shows on social media platforms is a growing trend despite the surge in streaming services offering shows on demand.
According to a recent survey, over a third of Brits (35%) have watched an episode of a TV show or a movie on media platforms such as TikTok and YouTube, rather than on streaming services or TV. The survey of 2000 Brits, by tech retailer Currys, found the age group with the highest percentage that watches shows this way is 16–24-year-olds, with 64% saying they had “watched an episode of a show or a movie in sections on TikTok or YouTube”. More surprisingly, however, is that one in six (15%) of those aged 55 have done so too.
The data also showed that 32% of Gen Z respondents stated that clips on social media, such as TikTok, was a major deciding factor when picking a show to watch, with 29% admitting that they will simply watch a TV show based on ‘hype’ alone.
Netflix beats ALL rivals as the UK’s favourite streaming service
According to the survey findings, despite the rising prices and password-sharing blockers, Netflix emerged as the clear favourite among the British public. Despite facing competition from four other contenders, Netflix claimed the top spot with 38% of the votes- which may not come as a surprise given they have highly anticipated new seasons of popular series such as Bridgerton landing this week and Stranger Things and Squid Game all still to come.
Its closest competitor, BBC iPlayer, lagged significantly behind, securing only 11% of the votes, marking a substantial 27% difference between the two platforms. This preference for Netflix could be attributed to legacy, with it being one of the first streaming services, launching in 2007 (after previously being a DVD‑by‑mail movie rental service). Whereas Prime Video didn’t enter the picture until 2011 and Apple TV and Disney Plus in 2019.
The top five streaming platforms in the UK
| Streaming service | % who prefer this |
| Netflix | 38% |
| BBC Iplayer | 11% |
| Amazon Prime Video | 10% |
| ITV X | 5% |
| Disney plus | 5% |
Too much choice for Brits! Over half feel less is more when it comes to finding something to watch
Choice paralysis is nothing new for many, and with the constant introduction of new streaming services, the choice of what to watch is just getting harder, or at least that is what 52% of Brits think. In the study over half of respondents agreed that having so much choice makes it hard to select what to watch, with 57% admitting to sometimes scrolling and never finding anything to watch.
It is no surprise then that, after the effort of finding something to watch, most Brits decide to just binge a show, with 59% saying they tend to binge watch a series they like.
And how much time are they spending deciding what to watch? The study found that the average for Brits was 30 minutes of scrolling before either giving up or landing on something to watch. When looking at this by age group, it seems the 25-34 year olds are the most indecisive taking an extra 11 minutes to decide at 41 minutes of scrolling, this is closely followed by 16-24 year olds at 39 minutes.
About these results, Dr George Fieldman, Independent Consultant and Chartered Psychologist, said that choice paralysis could actually be down to a mental health issue. He said: “Those that suffer from anxiety are more likely to experience choice paralysis. This usually happens because making the right choice is important for them and they overestimate the impact of making the wrong decision.
“Fear and danger are poorly correlated which means that people fear making the wrong choice. Even when it comes to picking something to watch on TV still comes with a fair amount of factors to consider which can lead you to spiral into anxiety. What you watch is a significant investment of time and people don’t want to make the wrong choice. It has to be worthwhile to justify spending that time which could be spent elsewhere.”
You can find the full study here: https://www.currys.co.uk/techtalk/tv-advice/no-you-choose.html
