On satisfying videos, small joys and what they might mean
It’s late, I should be asleep, and I’m online watching a man power wash a driveway.
The grey, brown and green grime disappears one stripe at a time. Then he trims the hedge, fixes the roof, and tidies the front yard until the whole house looks like it belongs to someone who finally has their life together. I’m not planning to wash any tiles soon, because I actually already did. Hooked, I ordered a power washer and used it on the tiles in my garden, and they look like new again. It was deeply satisfying.
And I know I’m not alone. Some of us watch makeovers, home renovations or cleaning videos. Others love reaction videos, where someone hears a song or sees a film for the first time and we watch their face change from emotion to emotion. Some people love watching a stranger eat, or happy tears. A lot of us love watching cats be hilarious or animals do remarkable things. Some of us watch foreign films just for the sensory joy of hearing another language. Overall, it’s the enjoyment of watching something inspiring, anything.
For many of us, watching online has gradually replaced television, and the camera has shifted to regular people. I started wondering why we love watching other people do the simplest of things.
We crave inspiration
Television turned into channels on repeat, the same shows over and over again. It did not inspire me. Everything felt polished, scripted and far away from my own life. Online it’s different. The people in these videos are often regular people with regular driveways, kitchens and sewing tables, and they show you how they got from messy to beautiful, mistakes included. And instead of waiting for the right programme to come on, I can follow whatever sparks something in me at that moment, at any hour. I’m not just being entertained. I’m being given ideas.
We love seeing order appear
Most of us live with a lot of unfinished things: the to-do list, the pile of laundry, the project we started and abandoned. In these videos, things get finished. The mess turns into order in fifteen minutes, and you’re guaranteed a happy ending. That’s rare in real life, and it feels wonderful.
It feels like doing, without the effort
I used to make my own clothes. I loved the idea, but I didn’t have the patience, and every mistake made me want to quit. Watching someone else sew a garment gives me the best part; the moment the fabric becomes something wearable, without the frustration of a crooked seam. Psychologists call this vicarious experience. Your brain enjoys it almost as if you were part of it. The satisfaction is real, and the unpicking is someone else’s problem.
Nothing is at stake
Most television asks something of us. We worry about characters, dread bad news, follow complicated plots. A transformation video asks nothing. Nobody gets hurt, and the outcome is almost always better than the beginning. It’s calming, and for many people it’s a way to slow down at the end of a busy day.
We’re social creatures, even on the sofa
Reaction videos and watching people eat or enjoy things show something else: we like sharing feelings. When someone is moved by a song for the first time, we feel it too. It turns a solitary moment into a shared one. It’s a bit like having a friend on the sofa next to you, even if that friend lives in another country and doesn’t know you exist.
It’s inspiring…
The best part is what stays with you afterwards. After watching a clever outfit come together, I look differently at what’s in my own wardrobe. After seeing a room transformed, I notice the corner of my living room that could use a lamp. And why not revamp a lamp myself, if I’ve already watched someone else give a tutorial? Or simply enjoy being inspired.
What does your watching say about you?
Here is something I noticed. I ordered that power washer because I couldn’t take my eyes off the process. The spray moving across the tiles, the clean stripe appearing right behind it, the grime giving way one line at a time. You do one thing and you see the result immediately, and that is so rare in daily life, where effort and results are often far apart. And, honestly, it simply looked like fun.
That’s what I took from it: what we can’t stop watching says something about what we enjoy, but it can also say something about what we’re missing and/or trying to gain. And the reasons are probably as different as we are, and at the same not as different.
For me, it’s fun & joy, curiosity, other people’s experiences, watching something or someone become more beautiful, watching people sharing their gifts, and a little order, because I’m a chaos being at heart.
Maybe it’s the calm of watching someone else take their time. Maybe it’s the sense of pleasure of seeing a result appear right in front of you. Maybe it’s the connection of sharing someone’s first reaction. Crying along with someone, which lifts some weight of you as well, or admiration for someone’s skill. Or maybe it’s simply that it feels good.
So, what is it really?
I think we’re hungry for four things: inspiration, progress, calm and connection. A good transformation video offers all four in a few minutes, with no homework attached. And if we pay attention to which ones we reach for, they tell us something about what we need.
So the next time you catch yourself watching a stranger clean a patio at midnight, don’t feel guilty. You’re not wasting time. You’re collecting small doses of calm, and a little proof that messy things can become beautiful. And maybe, you’re finding out what you need.
And sometimes the answer is simply: it was fun.
If a video leaves you calm or inspired, it’s nourishing. If it leaves you empty, you could ask what you’re really looking for. Watching can be a mirror, if you let it.
Love,
Gloria
