Does it feel like you've watched everything?
We have reached the end of the internet. Well obviously we haven't, but a lot of people now feel like they've watched everything decent on whichever streaming site they use. You'll have seen the headlines about how many people have cancelled Netflix - it's not just because of the cost of living crisis, it's boredom with their content.
Anyone who's spent the best part of an evening scrolling through the big TV streaming sites will know that the categories they divvy stuff into do tend to be a bit random. Their 'Shows We Think You'll Like' lists can sometimes be downright offensive.
Most of these online affairs are based on algorithms, of course, which beaver away cleverly in the background then suggest stuff they think we'll be into, whether it's comedy on YouTube or goods on a shopping site. If they do manage to accurately nail down your interests, you'll often then find yourself with a pretty narrow range of categories. Sometimes it's worth breaking away and finding inspiration elsewhere.
By 'elsewhere' we mean still on the internet, of course: when in doubt, look up a list, whether it's viewing, gaming or shopping. Anyone seeking a new show to stream can find hidden gems that are worth a gamble on one of the regular magazine rundowns online. A bit like if you're looking to get the best odds on sports betting, there are several services that'll direct you to good deals at the big web-based shops.
It's good to take charge of your own destiny, with a little guidance thrown in. Obviously that algorithm technology is often useful in certain areas: music for example. If you generally like indie-rock, you'd probably prefer your in-car or while-you're-running soundtrack to stay largely along those lines, rather than suddenly swerving into experimental opera or ear-bleeding techno and making you swerve into traffic.
But algorithms can go wildly off-target too. You only need to buy one weird present for someone's birthday or let your other half google something on your laptop and you're in the madhouse, forever, with all sorts of weird recommendations coming at you. If you've got a fairly modern smartphone you'll probably get breaking news stories pumped at you that are as far from your field of interest as it's possible to be. How does that happen? Perhaps that celeb gossip will be useful to know, one day.
Oddly enough, in the old days people arguably watched a wider range of stuff, even though we had a lot less choice: because we only had a few channels. Back then you'd have to sit through the news, a documentary and whatever film they'd decided to show in order to wait for, say, Match Of The Day. If there was a comedy show on one of the big three or four channels in the 1970s and 80s, absolutely everyone watched it, even if it wasn't any good. Which is how slow-starting sitcoms like Only Fools And Horses got time to flourish.
Now, we demand brilliance immediately. And we'll spend all night scrolling in order to never find it.