Streaming Fatigue Is Real: Americans Have Endless Options and Still Feel Bored

It’s been a long week and you just want to sit back on your couch and relax. You turn on the TV, but now you face the first choice—which streaming service to use. Once past this decision, the choices continue from picking between a TV show or movie, watching something new or familiar, deciding which genre you’re in the mood for, and the decisions go on and on.

For some people this wide range of possibilities is exciting and keeps them entertained, but for others the endless options are overwhelming. Some of you give up and resort to games like Spider Solitaire or FreeCell. At Solitaire Bliss, we understand the role entertainment plays in our lives. It helps us unwind after work. It provides us with a break from reality. It connects us to our friends and family.

It’s because of this importance that we set out to learn more about the fatigue of deciding what to watch. To do this, we surveyed Americans all across the country and asked a variety of questions about their feelings regarding the various options available and how it impacts their leisure time. Read on to learn more about our findings.

Key Takeaways

• 69% of Americans feel bored with entertainment options at least once a week.
• 52% of Americans feel overwhelmed by their entertainment options.
• 57% of Americans are dissatisfied with the value they get from streaming services.
• Nearly 1 in 5 Americans usually retreat to something familiar when deciding what to watch.
• The Office and Seinfeld are the most popular comfort shows in the U.S.
• 1 in 5 Americans feel there are too many options, which makes it difficult to choose a show to watch.
• The average American spends 9 minutes considering show options before starting something.

Americans’ Tough Decision of What to Watch

Even in a world where new TV shows and movies seem to come out every day, we found 69% of Americans feel bored with their entertainment options at least once a week. While 52% of people say they simply feel overwhelmed by all the entertainment options, we uncovered other aspects that contribute to Americans feeling like there’s nothing good to watch.

Leading the way as the most common reason is content feels repetitive or unoriginal according to nearly 2 in 5 people. For 1 in 5 people, it comes down to there being too many options, making it harder to choose.

For 19% of respondents, the new shows coming out these days simply aren’t as good as older ones. I mean after all, it’s hard to beat TV giants like Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Friends. Sometimes you sit down to watch a show, but are unsure of what you’re in the mood for. While most streaming services provide recommendations, 1 in 10 Americans say the algorithms don’t recommend what they actually want.

Although research shows that 83% of Americans use streaming services, we discovered that 57% of people are dissatisfied with the value they get from the services they subscribe to. While you may think that having more options through a variety of streaming services would prevent boredom, we found that people who spend $100 or more each month on streaming services are the most likely to feel bored with their entertainment options at least once a day. Additionally, 1 in 3 Americans say they frequently experience decision paralysis when seeking entertainment options.

Decision Paralysis and Comfort Shows

Another common trend among Americans these days is starting a new show or movie, only to never actually finish it. We decided to dive into this to learn more about what keeps people from watching this content all the way through.

Up first, the most common reason is that viewers simply didn’t find the show or movie to be as interesting as they expected (58%). For 1 in 7 people, content piles up in their “Continue Watching” section of streaming services because they couldn’t stay focused.

Coming in third place with 13% of people noting it is they realized they weren’t in the mood for it. This is followed by content feeling repetitive or predictable (11%) and people being distracted by something else (4%).

Overall, we discovered that the average American spends about 9 minutes considering show options before actually pressing play. For nearly 1 in 5 Americans, this time spent scrolling typically results in them retreating to something familiar that they’ve watched before.

When asking about go-to comfort shows, we found The Office and Seinfeld were the most popular among Americans. This is followed by Friends, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Parks and Recreation claiming third, fourth, and fifth place, respectively.

While nearly 1 in 3 people say they continue their scrolling through the options until they feel inspired by something, 34% say they scroll for a long time and then settle, and 1 in 10 give up after scrolling for too long.

Combat Decision Paralysis with a Game of Solitaire

The times of limited entertainment are long gone. No longer do we have to browse a TV guide to find something of interest playing at that time of day. Now, we can find our favorite show on a streaming service and binge every episode with ease. While more options seem like a good thing, sometimes it makes it that much harder to make a decision.

At Solitaire Bliss, we know how important leisure time is for our busy lives. When decision paralysis sets in and you can’t decide what to watch, try stepping away from the TV and exercise your brain with a game of Scorpion Solitaire or Forty Thieves instead. Find your new favorite online game today and say goodbye to the overwhelming feeling of too many entertainment options.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn Americans' opinions of entertainment options available to them in 2026. To do this, we surveyed 1,199 people across the country and asked a variety of questions from how many streaming services they have to how often they are bored with their options. In addition to frequency of boredom, we also discovered the most popular comfort shows and what leads to viewers quitting a show they just started watching.