Margen
One Saturday in 2000, at a gourmet supermarket in California, psychologist Sheena Iyengar set up a jam-tasting booth. Some hours it offered 24 flavours; others, just 6. The big display won the crowd: 60% of shoppers stopped to look, versus 40% at the small one.
But at the till the story flipped: of those who faced 24 flavours, only 3% bought a jar. Of those who saw 6, 30% did. Ten times more sales with a quarter of the options.
It's the paradox of choice: a little variety attracts, but too much overwhelms. Faced with 24 jars, picking one means giving up the other 23 — and your brain would rather pick nothing than risk regretting it.
That's why you spend longer choosing a show than watching it. The infinite catalogue isn't giving you freedom: it's handing you homework.