Have you ever felt that when friends invite you to watch a movie on the weekend, it seems like 'a waste of time'? Or when at home, instead of watching a movie you’ve wanted to see on a streaming platform, you choose to do something else—even though deep down you’ve wanted to watch that film for a long time and know movies have inherent value?
Most people blame these feelings on the trend of consuming content quickly, which promotes enjoying brief moments of happiness through short clips catering to immediate desires. When they watch a movie lasting several hours, something that once brought enjoyment now feels boring, eventually leading them to see movie-watching as a waste of time.
This explanation is not far from the truth. However, what we must not overlook is that we live in an era where time is money. We spend most days working and have limited free time for ourselves. This makes us prone to experiencing Productivity Guilt or Leisure Guilt—the feeling of guilt from engaging in activities that simply bring us happiness.
Another factor is our perception of time. Whenever we tell ourselves we’re going to watch a movie, our brain registers that we’re spending about one to two hours on it. This awareness makes us realize time will definitely pass and leads us to think about what else we could do in that same timeframe. We also anticipate the feeling after finishing the movie—a subtle sadness realizing time has flown and the day is nearly over.
Each year, dozens of new movies are released, sometimes making us feel overwhelmed or lazy about choosing what to watch. When we do pick a film, we can’t just let it play passively; we must focus, follow the story, and listen carefully to understand what’s happening. Even for movie lovers, after a tiring day at work, watching a movie can easily become an activity we overlook.
Watching movies is not a waste of time at all.
For those who feel that spending one to two hours watching a movie is wasting time, consider that watching a film is no different from reading a book. It helps develop skills to understand worlds different from what we know and the diversity of human nature. Of course, it depends on the movie genre. If you want to relax, action and comedy films can relieve stress, while historical and drama films can offer new perspectives and simplify complex histories.
If you still can’t find a reason to watch movies, consider what you would do instead. If you end up just lying down scrolling on your phone, watching a movie might be more beneficial than you think. Films are designed to convey human experiences visually, through visual literacy. Understanding humanity through stories works like books or listening to life stories, offering inspiration, ideas, and ethics that help us comprehend situations and notions of right and wrong.
It’s perfectly okay if you can’t keep up with watching movies.
“I used to love watching movies, but now I can’t finish them. Sometimes I get sleepy halfway through, and I don’t know what to do.” Movie-watching habits have changed over time. With less free time, we often experience FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)—the feeling of missing social trends, such as not watching any Oscar-winning films, which can also trigger FOMO.
Similar to unfinished books, piled-up unread materials, or abandoned hobbies, we experience the Zeigarnik Effect, which makes us remember unfinished tasks more than completed ones. Another feeling is the Sunk Cost Fallacy—we see time as an investment. Even if we stop watching a movie after 30 minutes, it feels like losing that invested time, causing guilt because we overly value time.
If you were once a devoted movie watcher but your habits have changed, it’s completely fine to watch movies discontinuously or to pause after an hour and finish later. This method has the advantage of watching movies with a refreshed mind, avoiding fatigue. Dispel the false belief that movies must be watched in one sitting or that watching them in parts shows a lack of care.
Today, we no longer need to go out to watch movies (although theaters provide a better experience), especially for those with packed schedules. Streaming platforms allow us to watch anytime, making it easier to fit movies into our time. We don’t always have to watch at home; with determination, movies can be enjoyed on trains or in cars, adapting to each person’s viewing preferences.
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