The college girl with her phone in the library is not avoiding reality. She is building a scaffold to hold it up. She is watching a movie about a girl who survived law school so she can survive her 8 AM. She is listening to a podcast about messy breakups so hers doesn't feel so lonely. She is scrolling through tweets about The Bachelor finale because analyzing a stranger’s romantic failure is, paradoxically, the only safe way to think about her own.
“Casting Call: The Real Housewives of Ridgemont. Meet the original cast. Starting with Emma Chen, Season 1, Episode 1.” The college girl with her phone in the
A College Girl's Guide: Binge Worthy TV Shows - Gabby In The City She is listening to a podcast about messy
The line between spectator and participant has vanished. A college girl watches Emily in Paris not just for the plot, but for the wardrobe inspiration for her study abroad application. She watches The Bear for the "chaos kitchen" energy she feels in her group project. Meet the original cast
College is ostensibly a place for intellectual development. Yet, for many women, the most radical ideological shifts happen not in the Gender Studies seminar, but during a Netflix and Chill session.
Unscripted drama is the ultimate escapism for the stressed student. However, the college girl watches reality TV with a critical lens . She is as interested in the "editing meta-narrative" as she is in the romance. Popular media podcasts like Watch What Crappens or The Viall Files are essential secondary texts.