From all her years at LACES, senior Luna Al-Bondak remembers a specific set from her junior year vividly. It’s late, and Luna stares at her glowing phone. It’s 12:32 a.m. or so. Another night of at most six hours of sleep is waiting for her. Her days start way too early, followed by seven hours of school and a three-hour swim practice that consists of conditioning and endless laps, leaving her shoulders aching and her energy drained. After practice, hours of AP Chemistry work await her, let alone AP English Language, where pages upon pages of Matthew Desmond’s ‘Evicted’ must be read.
Finally, after finishing the last of her assignments she has a moment of peace. She collapses onto her bed and opens up Netflix, instantly captivated by fresh flashy titles. She scrolls for a moment when her finger stops on a familiar title: “Gilmore Girls.” Without hesitation she presses play. It’s the same show she has been watching on late Sunday nights since she discovered the series in 8th grade. It’s familiar, it’s safe – it’s comfortable.
In a world where students’ schedules are constantly changing and priorities are rising, students are turning to the same shows that they’ve seen time and time again, also known as comfort media.
As the school year is progressing into some of the most stressful few months with the SAT, APs and endless school assignments, many students find themselves turning to the same coping strategy: rewatching familiar shows and movies. Instead of searching for new content, students end up turning to the same media countless times. This may seem like students are uninterested in diving into something new, but it actually might be linked to deeper psychological and mental health patterns.
Comfort media refers to familiar shows, movies or online media that people repeatedly turn to for emotional relief. For many, this means rewatching the same animated movie, reality show or childhood favorite during these times of the school year. Since the content is predictable, comfort media allows students to relax without the pressure of processing something new.
From a psychological perspective, familiarity can create a sense of emotional safety. People seek familiar and calming activities when they feel stressed and familiar shows may remind students of positive memories or earlier periods in their lives, making them feel better during anxious times.
Rachel Klimke, the psychology teacher here at LACES, also explained that the brain naturally looks for patterns and routine during stressful periods. “Our brain definitely is a pattern and it wants to recognize patterns and seek safety…[it] is an adaptive coping mechanism that allows us to self-regulate or manage stress and anxiety,” said Klimke.
Klimke explained that stress activates the body’s fight or flight response, releasing cortisol and engaging the sympathetic nervous system. Familiar, low stakes shows help the brain feel safe and allow the body to return to a calmer “rest and digest mode” controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system. Because students already know what will happen in these shows their brains don’t have to stay on high alert.
Comfort media often appears in student safety and wellness plans as a coping strategy. Hannah Bocarsly, the social worker at LACES, shares that many students identify watching TV or movies as a way to manage stress but emphasized the importance of balance.
“There is absolutely comfort in media, but when we rely on it too much … that’s also not good for your mental health,” said Bocarsly.
Nostalgia plays a big role in why comfort media feels so relaxing. Klimke explained the mere exposure effect, which states that the more we are exposed to something the more we decide to like it. She also highlighted parasocial relationships, where viewers feel connected to characters as if they know them personally. These relationships can make students want to return to familiar shows because they feel emotionally safe.
Klimke notes that today’s students usually turn to screens first when trying to cope with stress because digital media is so accessible. While screens can be both helpful and harmful, comfort media can serve as a manageable and familiar coping tool when used with awareness and moderation. It shouldn’t replace other healthy coping strategies, but it remains an accessible and relatable way students manage the pressures of school life.