"Food Factory" came on.
I watched chocolate bars emerge from silver machines like magic.
The narrator's voice felt like a warm blanket.
Each perfect product rolling off the line.
I forgot I was sick.
20 years later, I realized something interesting
That innocent TV show had hijacked my brain.
Discovery Inc Channel, National Geographic accidentally built the blueprint for modern addiction.
Your brain releases dopamine when curiosity is triggered and manufacturing shows are curiosity crackers.
They follow a flawless psychological formula
👉 Mystery hook: "How do they make that?"
👉 Process reveal: Step-by-step satisfaction
👉 Completion reward: The finished product
This creates what psychologists call a "compulsion loop".
The same mechanism that makes TikTok addictive.
But unlike social media, these shows made us feel "productive" while binge-watching.
We convinced ourselves we were "learning."
The result? An entire generation that associates manufacturing with comfort and satisfaction.
No wonder we're obsessed with "behind-the-scenes" content now.
No wonder unboxing videos went viral.
No wonder process posts perform so well on LinkedIn.
TV channels didn't just show us how products are made.
They rewired how our brains consume content.
Every content creator today is essentially selling the same drug that comforted us as sick kids on the couch.
So what's scarier? That they did it by accident or that we can't stop consuming it?
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