Millennials face a uniquely modern problem — the terrors of endless opportunity.
I always end the week by watching Netflix. As far as I’m concerned the streaming platform is nothing less than a magic elixir for stressful 21st-century life. On Friday night, all I want to do is collapse on my couch, forget work, and think about something else. With modern technology and the right defeatist attitude it’s as simple as pressing a button. That button takes me to the Netflix app where I am greeted with a burgundy webpage and bold movie posters that fill me with the dreamy feeling you get from the cinema. But in this case I don’t have to interact with annoying Marvel fans — and I can do it all from my living room.
The thing is, Netflix is growing. A lot. Just last month it added 125 new titles to its already massive library. So last week when I sat down to watch something and relax, I found the experience not relaxing at all. Instead my fingers cramped from flicking the remote too many times, trying to decide which movie or show to watch. Despite all the great options I could only pick one. Or could I? In the end I watched half an episode of Mad Men followed by the first 20 minutes of Fantastic Beasts. A combination that was neither mad, nor fantastic.
When we look at the problems our generation faces we think of big-ticket issues like overpopulation and climate change. These topics are important — but a lot of modern issues arise in more mundane ways. You wouldn’t think that something as harmless as Netflix would cause millennials anxiety and stress and yet it threatens to do just that. The digital platform’s convenience and abundance of movie titles means that we have too much choice. And too much choice is not always a good thing.
Decision-making is a cognitive workout at the best of times. But with so many options to choose from, Netflix has forced on us a slew of bad habits. Our generation is becoming less decisive. Instead of choosing one movie to watch, we ask, why not watch them all? Ten minutes into an episode of Breaking Bad, I decide I’ve fueled my need for meth-fueled violence. I press the button that takes me back to the home screen and my fingers brush across the remote, accustomed to the intricate dance of mindless Netflix browsing. They land on Tidying Up With Marie Kondo — a show about a woman who teaches people home maintenance skills. It’s a charming episode in which Kondo shows a family how to appreciate their clothing. 25 minutes later, my craving is itched and I’m watching something else.
Looking over my Netflix history, I’m concerned how closely it resembles my resume. Both are wastelands of unfinished starts and beginnings. The inklings of a journalism career, followed by the baby steps of being a video editor. I’m not alone. A recent Gallup report on workplace habits found that millennials change jobs more frequently than any generation before them. 21% of millennials have switched jobs within the last year and 60% are open to a different opportunity. The report also found that we are the generation least engaged with our work — 55% of millennials report not being engaged at their workplace, and 16% report being actively disengaged.
Since moving back home, I’ve noticed that many conversations with friends revolve around new opportunities and career decisions. We’ll grab coffee and talk about the latest and greatest job prospect — it’s going to open up so many doors! Or a recently-discovered hobby — one that will give life renewed purpose and meaning. What these chats all have in common is that by the time we finish our coffees and part ways, we’ll never talk about them again. Next week will be the start of a different career adventure. The previous conversation is cast away and lost in the same unfulfilled wasteland as those entry-level jobs and half-watched TV shows.
We can thank our indecisiveness on a phenomenon called ‘analysis paralysis’. It is the process that happens every time we make a decision, causing our brains to crank into gear to analyze pros and cons, and leaving us mentally tired. For most of human psychological history we were able to handle this. In earlier times resources were scarce and we simply didn’t have as many options to choose from. And the decisions we did make were often instinctual, a matter of deciding to sleep in the cold or to seek shelter. But now we live in a consumption culture where advances in technology has made the question of what to choose trivial. The vast libraries of platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify, have retrained our minds to not waste energy on decision-making. We opt instead to select everything — and consume, consume, and consume.
But this life philosophy isn’t particular useful. Especially not in our careers where success is equal parts time and discipline. While some might labor under the Hollywood-induced delusion that, with the right outfit, anyone can be a model, engineer, pilot, and lawyer, the truth is this will never happen. In her NYTimes best-seller Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth seeks to find out what makes people successful. In her research she found that among the most successful people in any field, there was one thing in common. They had spent countless hours developing their expertise in their specific area. Rightfully, success was not the result of fortune, but from the determination to stick to one goal.
I remember as a child, before Netflix changed everything, you had to rely on the TV guide. The once-revered pocket book came with the newspaper every week and would list which movies were televised on each channel. In those days there weren’t many, we had maybe four or five different stations, and they’d only play a single movie on Saturday night. So you really were limited for options and once you started watching something, you couldn’t change your mind. Everything played in real-time so there was no switching channels and starting from the beginning.
But it was fine. Sure there were a lot of stinkers but those times were rare, and more often than not you came away watching something that was unexpectedly good. The most important part was that you got through the movie from start to end. You were forced to appreciate the story arcs, the character development, and understand the films as a whole. I can say with no hint of sarcasm that it was much better having one whole mediocre steak, than two half-cooked great ones.
We shouldn’t fall into the trap of consumption culture. Aside from ruining entertainment experiences, it threatens to pollute our minds. Next time you make a decision, whether it’s over what to watch, eat, or even how to plan your career, consider sticking out your decision for a while before moving on to the next one. If you can get over the first few hurdles, it becomes easier to keep going as you build momentum — like watching a film. Maybe next time I’ll turn off Netflix and watch what’s on TV instead.
