If you have ever engaged in small talk, TV has almost certainly come up as a topic at least once. Most people watch it, and everyone has their own opinion, so picking someone’s brain about the new couple on a dating show or the plot twist in a season finale can be a great way to ease awkward tension.

When I moved into college for the first time, I dreaded all the small talk I would have to do. Like many incoming freshmen, one of my biggest fears was having no friends, and I was especially terrified that I wouldn’t get along with my five suitemates. The last time I’d been forced to start over was my freshman year of high school, and I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to connect with my suitemates the way I did with my friends from home.

On move-in day, one of my suitemates set up a TV in the common room. I wondered if it would ever get any use: there was no way that six strangers who had never met before would actually want to sit together and watch TV.

But on one of our first days in the dorm together, when we had nothing better to do, we decided to put on the Ash Trevino episode of “Rotten Mango” on Netflix. Immediately, we bonded over the sheer insanity of what was transpiring on screen. Trevino was getting arrested for fraud, making a fool out of herself on TikTok Live and discussing her diet of bean dip and Cheetos. I didn’t feel awkward at all, and I actually felt myself getting closer to them just after one afternoon of TV-watching.

A few days later, we decided to turn on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” for some background noise. After only a few episodes, we became completely obsessed. Our eyes stayed glued to the screen, flabbergasted by the outrageous lifestyles of the MomTok girls and all the drama they always seemed to get into. As we made our way through the first season, I noticed that the more we watched, the less time we spent in our rooms. We would do homework in the common room, doomscroll in the common room and, of course, watch TV shows in the common room. Even though I was outside my comfort zone, our “couch time” allowed me to take my mind off the chaos.

Our current favorite TV show is “Glee.” While discussing our favorite series, we realized several of us shared a love for the campy choir show, and we successfully converted our suitemates, who had shockingly never seen it, into Gleeks. When it is “Glee” time, the TV has our undivided attention. We scream all the lyrics to our favorite songs (sincerest apologies to our neighbors), theorize about which character we would be if we were students at McKinley High and rewind each time we miss a crucial moment like Grilled Cheesus or the “Touch-a Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me” sequence in the episode “Rocky Horror Glee Show.” Some of the Glee covers have even made it onto our pregame playlist.

While TV has helped forge a personal bond between my suitemates and me, it also creates online communities of fans who have never even met before. In the 2000s, viewers went crazy for the guidos and guidettes on “Jersey Shore,” and devoted “Vampire Diaries” fans rode hard for Team Stefan or Team Damon. In the 2010s, people concocted thousands of theories about the origins of the Demogorgon from “Stranger Things” and watched the evolution of Walter and Jesse’s drug empire on “Breaking Bad.” Last winter, millions became enamored with two fictional hockey rivals-turned-lovers when “Heated Rivalry” was released. This summer, the entire internet came together to make fun of CorbinGPT and Sincere’s metaphor about having two beautiful fish on “Love Island USA.”

For some people, heated online debates are their main source of socialization, and they cling to their fandoms instead of chasing authentic human connection. TV shows can help start a conversation, but in order to foster a genuine relationship, we have to delve deeper and put in effort. While TV helped foster a group dynamic with me and my suitemates, that initial bond has led us to share other experiences that have strengthened our relationship.

In a world where so many differences separate us, we are always looking for ways to forge a connection. TV gives us all common ground to stand on. Often, the strongest relationships blossom from shared interests, and gushing to someone about your favorite TV show can sometimes spark an instant bond.

So, if you are ever looking for a way to connect with someone, try turning on the TV.

Lydia Krasnikov is a freshman majoring in psychology.

Views expressed in the opinions pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece that represents the view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial.