The Paradox of Choice: Why Having 10,000 Options Makes It Harder to Pick Anything
The Paradox of Choice: Why Having 10,000 Options Makes It Harder to Pick Anything
It’s Friday night. You’ve got the whole evening free. You open Netflix, ready to finally check out something new.
Two hours later, you’re rewatching The Office for the 47th time.
What happened?
The Problem Isn’t Lack of Options
Here’s the weird thing: we have more content available than any generation in human history.
- Netflix: ~15,000 titles
- Amazon Prime: ~24,000 titles
- Your local library: thousands of books
- Steam: ~50,000 games
- Spotify: 100 million songs
And yet, we’re paralyzed by choice.
The Science Behind Decision Paralysis
Psychologist Barry Schwartz calls this the “Paradox of Choice.” The basic idea:
More options = Harder decisions = Less satisfaction
When you have 3 options, picking one is easy. When you have 3,000 options, your brain basically short-circuits.
Why? Because:
- Fear of missing out - “What if there’s something better?”
- Decision fatigue - Your brain gets tired from evaluating options
- Regret anticipation - “What if I pick wrong?”
- Opportunity cost - Every choice means not choosing everything else
So you end up choosing… nothing. Or defaulting to something familiar.
The Streaming Scroll of Death
You know the pattern:
- Open Netflix with genuine intention to check out something new
- Scroll through recommendations
- Add 3 things to your list
- Keep scrolling “just to see what else is there”
- Get overwhelmed
- Rewatch something you’ve seen before
- Feel vaguely disappointed in yourself
It’s not just you. It’s literally everyone.
Why Your Giant List Doesn’t Help
Most people’s solution: “I’ll just save everything to my list!”
But here’s what actually happens:
- Your Netflix list: 87 items
- Your Goodreads list: 143 books
- Your Steam library: 200+ unplayed games
- Your podcast subscriptions: 35 shows
Now you have the same problem, just in list form. You’ve moved the paradox of choice from the platform to your own list.
What Actually Works
After talking to hundreds of people about this, here’s what actually helps:
1. Curate, Don’t Collect
Stop adding everything that looks interesting. Be selective. Ask yourself:
- “Will I actually check this out?”
- “Am I excited about this, or just afraid of missing out?”
- “Does this fit my mood/time/energy right now?”
2. Create Context-Based Lists
Instead of one giant list, create specific lists:
- “Friday Night Movies” (fun, not too heavy)
- “Sunday Morning Reads” (cozy, light)
- “Commute Podcasts” (30 min episodes)
- “Sick Day Comfort” (rewatchable favorites)
When you’re in that context, you have 5-10 options instead of 500.
3. Use the “Rule of Three”
When deciding what to check out:
- Pick your top 3 options
- Close the app/list
- Choose from those 3
Don’t let yourself keep browsing. Three is enough.
4. Use Polls for Group Decisions
Can’t decide? Create a poll and let friends vote. This works great for:
- Movie nights
- Book clubs
- What to binge next
Fanakin’s poll feature makes this dead simple.
5. Set Time Limits
Give yourself 5 minutes to pick something. If you can’t decide in 5 minutes, pick the first thing on your list.
Seriously. The difference between your first choice and your “perfect” choice is usually negligible. But the time you waste deciding? That’s real.
6. Embrace “Good Enough”
Here’s a secret: most things you’re considering are probably pretty good. You’re not choosing between a masterpiece and garbage. You’re choosing between “good” and “also good.”
Pick one. If it sucks, stop. You haven’t signed a contract.
The Fanakin Philosophy
This is actually why we built Fanakin with three core features:
Lists Create small, focused lists for different contexts. “Rainy Day Movies” is more useful than one giant list. Mix media types or keep them separate—whatever works for you.
Profiles Build your media profile to showcase your taste. Private by default. No social performance required.
Polls Can’t decide? Create a poll and let friends vote. Perfect for group decisions or when you’re stuck between options.
Easy Removal If you’re not excited about something anymore, delete it. Your lists should spark joy, not guilt.
Quick Decisions When you open a list, you should be able to pick something in under a minute. If you can’t, the list is too big.
A Real Example
Here’s how one of our users (let’s call her Maya) solved this:
Before:
- One giant list with 120 items
- Spent 30+ minutes every time trying to pick something
- Usually gave up and rewatched Friends
After:
- “Friday Night Fun” (10 light movies/shows)
- “Deep Dive Weekends” (8 serious films)
- “Lunch Break Shows” (6 shows with 20-min episodes)
- “Sick Day Comfort” (5 rewatchable favorites)
- Uses polls when she can’t decide between options
Result:
- Picks something in under 2 minutes
- Actually checks out new stuff
- Feels good about her choices
The total number of items is the same. But the organization makes all the difference.
Your Action Plan
Here’s what to do this week:
Day 1: Pick one platform (Netflix, your list, whatever)
Day 2: Look at your giant list
Day 3: Delete anything you’re not actually excited about (be honest)
Day 4: Create 3-5 context-based lists
Day 5: Move items from your main list to these specific lists
Day 6: Next time you want something, only look at the relevant list
Day 7: Notice how much faster you make decisions
Bonus: Try creating a poll when you can’t decide between a few options
The Bottom Line
More options don’t make us happier. They make us anxious.
The solution isn’t to have fewer options (we can’t control that). The solution is to organize options in a way that makes decisions easier.
Small, focused lists beat giant, overwhelming ones every time. And when you still can’t decide? Use polls.
Stop collecting. Start curating.
Your Friday night self will thank you.
Try Fanakin to organize with focused lists, build your profile, and create polls when you’re stuck.