Since the days of online streaming have started, television's impact on the public has taken a new and strong approach. People watch TV shows seasons at a time, often including ones that have been off the air for years. Whether it's through online streaming websites like Netflix and Hulu, On Demand services, or through the old-fashioned way of watching shows when they air, people love TV. Myself included, audiences often get attached to fictional characters on shows as much as they get addicted to the episodes themselves. We cry when our favorite characters cry, or are hurt, or dare I say it–get killed off. Why do we get so emotionally invested in characters that we know aren't real and are separated from us by a screen?
These are characters that we resonate with. We watch them grow as people and go through ups and downs, rising above struggles and encouraging us to do the same. We connect with TV and movie characters because they, in some way, represent us. They face similar obstacles and portray similar flaws. Through watching this kind of character development, we, in a way, learn more about ourselves. Through watching a character suffer from loss or trauma, we learn about empathy.
Television often forces us to see that there is more than one side to every story. It promotes alternate perspectives and implements progressive ideas. The shows with the best character developments destroy the idea of a single protagonist, forcing audiences to understand another's point of view and feel empathy, even for the characters portrayed as "bad guys." We watch each character grow as individuals, and we all create our own well-rounded opinions of them based on their portrayals.
That's why, when a character leaves a show or gets killed off for good, we television fanatics cry our eyes out. We mourn and try to comfort ourselves with older episodes. No, these aren't real people leaving our lives, but being on a journey with an individual in such a way, even through a screen, builds a strong connection. And that's enough to fuel an passionate obsession.
