Reap the Benefits of Rewatching Your Favorite Movies

2024-11-24T15:46:14-08:00

Rewatching and sharing favorites improves mood and strengthens connections. Key points Anticipation of familiar scenes triggers dopamine, making rewatching more rewarding. Rewatching holiday movies fosters tradition and enhances feelings of connection across generations. Revisiting favorites lowers cognitive load, increases ease of processing, and reduces stress levels. Familiarity strengthens parasocial connections with media characters, increasing meaning and belonging. Ever found yourself reaching for your favorite old movie or TV show despite knowing every line and plot twist? You're not alone. Rewatching old favorites is a popular activity for many, especially during the holidays, when seasonal classics like It's a Wonderful Life, Love [...]

Reap the Benefits of Rewatching Your Favorite Movies2024-11-24T15:46:14-08:00

Why Do We Like Holiday Movies?

2022-02-23T23:54:42-08:00

BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology December 1, 2020 Holiday movies offer hope, joy, love, and the promise of a kinder world. Using entertainment for comfort, escape, and positivity can be an important antidote to COVID stress and Zoom fatigue. Holiday movies are a reliable and popular choice. Media companies have noticed, and some have upped their investment in holiday “feel good” movies. For example, according to the LA Times, Mar Visa entertainment has gone from investing about 10% of its development funds in holiday movies to about 50%. Why? Holiday movies make us happy. Psychologists talk about happiness by distinguishing between two types: [...]

Why Do We Like Holiday Movies?2022-02-23T23:54:42-08:00

How Technology Can Help You Conquer COVID Holidays

2020-11-24T11:01:08-08:00

BY PAM RUTLEDGE, PHD Doctoral faculty, Media Psychology November 24, 2020 8 steps to emotional connection online and offline. Every year about this time, there is a wealth of “how to survive the holidays” articles and advice.  It’s no secret that holidays can be stressful, even under the best of non-pandemic circumstances.  The holiday season is full of demands and it’s hard to ignore images of Insta-perfect holiday décor, artistically decorated cookies, and idyllic children wearing clean clothes.  The clean clothes alone should tell you it’s not for real but still, we torment ourselves. But this year, we’re faced with a whole new [...]

How Technology Can Help You Conquer COVID Holidays2020-11-24T11:01:08-08:00
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