Sometimes it depends on a person’s mood, and sometimes it depends on the person or the specifics around the activity. There are movies and shows I would only watch if I wanted to zone out, but a mystery or thriller isn’t one of them, and it would be hard to get totally engrossed in something I’d seen a few times because I know what’s happening next. But for music, it’s been long enough since I’d played that I wouldn’t be able to use that as a passive distraction—even for a relatively simple piece.
Sometimes it depends on a person’s mood, and sometimes it depends on the person or the specifics around the activity. There are movies and shows I would only watch if I wanted to zone out, but a mystery or thriller isn’t one of them, and it would be hard to get totally engrossed in something I’d seen a few times because I know what’s happening next. But for music, it’s been long enough since I’d played that I wouldn’t be able to use that as a passive distraction—even for a relatively simple piece.