Annoying Movie Friend. Why?

I just watched a comedy skit by Ryan George titled "Your Friend Who Sucks at Watching Movies." It's about the infuriating experience of watching a movie with a friend who just constantly talks and doesn't seem to be paying attention. This got me pondering about what makes people behave this way. 

In situations like this, you and your friend have different interpretations what activity it is that you are doing. Watching a film is an inherently asocial experience. Experiencing the film itself requires your full attention. For the duration of it you need to be looking at it, listening to it, or you'll miss something and your engagement with the film is broken. When you invite a friend like this to watch a film with you, your intent is to share a piece of art with them, to experience it simultaneously with them, and to discuss and compare your thoughts only after the film has ended. In your perspective, the activity you two are doing is "watching a movie".

When you are just hanging out with a friend, the specific activity you are doing is of no consequence. The main point is to spend time with your friend, and that means talking to them. Anything else is just a backdrop to allow for the conversation to flow. This is considered normal in other contexts. When you are taking a walk with a friend, you will comment on minor and inconsequential things, just to make conversation. "Look, a squirrel! Look at that tree! Look at that guy!" When you get coffee together, "Look at this thing on the menu! What are you getting? How does it taste? Have you ever had this drink?" At its core it is less about engaging with what is being said and more about how they choose to say it.  You know, their personality. These little comments can then lead into deeper conversations through elaboration and questions. In your friend's perspective, the activity you two are doing is "hanging out".

When they ask these stupid questions, they aren't looking for genuine answers. They want you to "bite," for it to evolve into a conversation. When they say "That's that guy from How I Met Your Friends in Philedelphia" their expected response is " Yeah, have you seen that show? Who's your favorite character? Do you have a favorite season?" From your perspective, you aren't there to have a conversation.

This difference in perspective extends to the scenario where your friend needs to go to the bathroom, and tells you not to pause the film. From your perspective, you are sharing the experience of watching the movie together. So when they tell you not to pause, it feels hurtful, because it feels like they're not even paying attention to what you're there to do! But from their perspective, they don't want you to be inconvenienced by pausing the movie. They're willing to lose out on part of the movie so you can keep watching it. In general, people don't like making their friends wait for them.

The full skit: