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Families spend 28 hours a year 'doombrowsing' TV and film options
Apr 23 2026 10:10 · By David Raven/Deputy Editor · 24 Reads
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Families spend 28 hours a year 'doombrowsing' while trying to pick a TV series or a film to watch, a survey claims.
Far from being a relaxing wind-down, picking what to watch has become a genuine source of stress in British homes. Over half (51%) say they feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choice, while over a third (38%) have thrown in the towel entirely and gone to bed without watching a thing. A further 38% say the nightly negotiation over what to watch is now a source of household tension, and 34% would rather just read a book instead.
Two thirds (66%) of Brits admit they’ve fallen asleep mid-browse without ever finding anything, and over half (54%) admit they often spend longer browsing than actually watching. Additionally, nearly half (45%) have stopped trying altogether, defaulting to a familiar favourite they've already seen, simply because it's easier than deciding.
It's a problem that's also driving people to their phones, with 70% of Brits turning to second screens to look up actors, quotes or plot details mid-browse before giving up on their search, with nearly half (45%) admitting that they often give up and going back to their trusty old TV show just to avoid the agony of deciding on something new to watch.
New research from EE TV has laid bare the epidemic of Doombrowsing : as the average viewer now burns through a total of 28 hours a year browsing through their TV and movie options. EE TV's Smart Search represents the next evolution in content discovery, transforming the way people find what they want to watch. In addition to Smart Search, EE TV has launched Mood Matcher, which tackles the bigger problem of not knowing what you want at all.
To put that into perspective, 28 hours is enough time to drive from Land's End to John o'Groats twice, sit through 14 full Premier League matches back-to-back, or walk over 100 miles across the UK. In effort to combat this, EE TV has launched the all-new Smart Search feature, designed to work the way that viewers actually think and help them find something to watch more efficiently than ever before.