Escapist Strategies
Everyone utilizes escapist strategies in life, as the harsh realities of life are apparent and permeate the human race. Reading a book, listening to music, and exercising can all be positive forms of escapism in the face of stress.
Other escapist strategies usually include a social aspect like partying, working long hours in an office workplace setting or going out and meeting new people. But of course, COVID-19 has stripped those options and left people to deal with effects of isolation.
In the absence of social-based soothing tactics, it’s easy to assume that television programming harkening back to a simpler time has been used as a form of self care.
Overall, “comfort television” rerun streaming saw a sharp uptick in 2020. The growth rate was even larger for some shows with casts that are more representative of the nation’s diversity. Year-to-year viewing of ABC’s “Family Matters” (1989-1998), which focuses on a Black family, skyrocketed, recording 11.4 billion viewing minutes for a 392% increase from 2019. “George Lopez” (2002-07), built around a popular comedian of Mexican-American heritage, recorded nearly 11 billion viewing minutes, a 113% jump, while “The Bernie Mac Show” (2001-06) was up 71% to 3.3 billion minutes. Additionally, “Good Times” (6.9 billion minutes, up 24%); and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” (6.7 billion minutes, up 13%) saw a dramatic increase in streaming as well.
So, as the world slowly starts to re-open is this overconsumption of media healthy?
“We can’t say that it is or isn’t, but we do know that these paint a picture to advertisers and media companies that Black people want to see themselves shown in a positive light and hopefully that will be reflected in how we are represented in media moving forward,” said Charlene Polite Corley, VP of Diverse Insights & Partnerships at Nielsen.
“For the rest of America, the isolation of prolonged social distancing has perhaps hinted at the isolation many diverse populations have long felt from being underrepresented in the office, at school, or even in public policy,” she continues in a Nielsen article further explaining the findings. “Parity in representation is important, but TV isn’t always about reflecting reality. It’s often a way to escape it. This makes the expansion of the stories, themes and roles Black women and Black men inhabit, both in front of and behind the camera, just as critical. Not just for the thrill that being seen has on Black audiences, but for the potential that full inclusion in the creation and distribution of TV content will have in shaping the hopes and dreams of Black families, our country and the world.
For more information, please visit Nielsen.com