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Are we still able to watch television? To really watch it, without doing anything else, without a phone in our hands? Today, most people scroll while the TV is on, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to understand whether this habit stems from our shrinking attention spans or from a content ecosystem that has grown progressively more mediocre. The streaming industry has noticed this shift, obviously. Netflix, for example, has reportedly started asking screenwriters for simpler storylines, where characters openly explain what they are doing, making it easier for viewers who are only half-paying attention to follow along. A small but telling glitch, one that has contributed to the emergence of a new content category known as casual viewing. Shows designed to be watched while doing something else.
As streaming platforms adjust to an audience that is increasingly distracted and accustomed to multitasking, Meta and TikTok are pushing in another direction, attempting to bring social media directly into the living room. As if carrying it in our pockets were no longer enough, the next step is to meet us on a larger screen, feeding us an endless stream of short-form videos.
In December 2025, Meta launched Instagram TV, a dedicated Smart TV app designed to bring Reels onto home screens. It was a move TikTok had already made back in 2023, but one that clearly signals a shared ambition: to conquer lean-back viewing, that moment when viewers sink into the couch and simply want to consume content passively, whether alone or in company. If apps like Instagram TV were to establish themselves, we might be witnessing the definitive shift toward a new form of television.
Social platforms are becoming increasingly less “social,” with only a small portion of their activity actually devoted to communication between friends and family. Today, more than 80% of the time spent on Facebook and over 90% of the time spent on Instagram is dedicated to watching videos created by users we don’t even know. A major switch if we consider that, back in the day, they were used to keep in touch with one’s social circle.
In Everything Is Television, Derek Thompson describes how media is converging toward a single format - a kind of continuous, uninterrupted flow. Whether we call it social media, streaming, or short-form video makes little difference: everything is gravitating toward the same shape, built around short videos designed for passive consumption. And the word passive increasingly appears to be the common thread linking this evolution to the growing use of artificial intelligence.
The response from streaming giants, however, does not seem to lie in producing better content to win back our attention. If anything, their efforts appear focused on acquiring control over the entire production chain. Netflix is reportedly seeking approval to acquire Warner Bros, Amazon has already purchased MGM, and Disney owns 20th Century Studios. Netflix’s CEO has been explicit in calling exclusive theatrical releases «not consumer-friendly,» questioning the logic of waiting 45 to 90 days to watch a film at home when it could be available immediately. It’s difficult to predict what this will mean for the film industry, but the outlook is unlikely to be positive.
The last frontier of traditional television seems to be sport, a phenomenon that continues to bring fans together in front of the screen and which Netflix is already eyeing up for its business. The platform is moving to occupy this sector too, with CEO Reed Hastings stating on several occasions that he wants to expand into sports streaming.
However, there are other ways in which some platforms are managing to keep even the least attentive viewers connected: on the twentieth anniversary of High School Musical, Disney broke the entire film down into 52 clips and published it in its entirety on the official Disney+ account on TikTok. Millions of people watched the clips and commented with other users, unexpectedly creating a new “social” experience. Tattle TV, on the other hand, has announced that it will stream The Lodger, a silent film produced in 1927 and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, on its vertical platform. This is one of the first known cases of a classic feature film being completely reworked for vertical consumption.
Microdramas follow a similar logic. These are mini series made up of one-minute episodes, shot vertically and built around romance-drama narratives. Their appeal does not lie in storytelling quality, often undermined by amateur acting and low-budget production, but rather in a business model that closely mirrors the addictive mechanics of mobile games. Eric Wei has compared them to «OnlyFans, but for women,» referring to their suggestive structure: just as a scene begins to escalate, viewers are asked to pay in order to continue watching.
The market believes in this format enough to invest hundreds of millions. TikTok has launched PineDrama as a dedicated app, while the startup GammaTime has raised $14 million from investors, including Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian. What makes the model even more scalable, and potentially more profitable, is its compatibility with AI. Linear storylines and relatively low production values make it possible to generate new episodes at speed, especially when artificial intelligence enters the process.
Before declaring cinema obsolete, however, it’s worth paying attention to what is happening inside theaters. According to the 2025 annual report by Cinema United, attendance among Gen Z audiences increased by 25%. Even more striking is data from the National Research Group, which shows that 59% of Gen Alpha prefers watching films in theaters rather than at home. In other words, those who grew up with iPads and YouTube Kids are consciously choosing the cinema.
Platforms like Letterboxd and niches such as #FilmTok have encouraged people not only to see more films, but also to approach them with a critical mindset. More importantly, streaming was never the revolution for these generations that it was for those born before it existed. For viewers who have never known a world without streaming, it offers no particular sense of novelty. Cinema, by contrast, becomes an experience, with a capital E. As a result, many theaters are rethinking moviegoing as something more luxurious and exclusive, introducing reclining seats, in-theater dining and cocktails, and collectible merchandise aimed at true enthusiasts.
The future is still unwritten. What will happen if Netflix completes its acquisition of Warner Bros, or if microdramas evolve into formats capable of competing in terms of narrative depth and production quality, remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that the central dilemma no longer lies in what we choose to watch, but how much attention we are still willing to give.
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