Have you ever sat down and watched an entire season of a show within a few days? The term binge-watching became ubiquitous in our society when streaming television shows rose in popularity.
I'm taking a class titled Psychology 532: Psychological Effects of the Internet, so I had the pleasure of learning about the research backed reasons why we binge watch for hours on end. Reading these made me feel a bit better about my Netflix habit, and I hope it does the same for you.
1. Peer Pressure and Fear of Missing Out
When Netflix released one of its most popular dramas, they found that 25% of viewers finished watching the drama in only two days! ("Orange is the New Black" perhaps?) Additionally, in a survey of 120 undergraduate students, 96 percent of students reported that they had watched more than one episode of a show in a day.
Television shows also provide great community and conversation. When I first came to UW-Madison, I didn't have a Netflix account, and within those first few awkward weeks of trying to meet people, there were numerous conversations that I could not contribute to because I had never watched "Parks and Recreation" or Grey's Anatomy. After my first semester at UW, I gave in to that peer pressure and got myself a Netflix account. I watched episode after episode of Orange is the New Black.
2. Binge watching has become culturally acceptable.
The way that we talk about binge watching a show is the same way we talk about going to McDonald's. We sheepishly admit that we downed some McFries and a McBurger, and we sheepishly admit that we watched a show for six hours straight. It's our guilty pleasure, and it's becoming everyone's guilty pleasure. Somehow, hearing a friend say that they watched television all day makes it okay for us to do the same. Just avoid any Netflix documentaries that remind you of the health risks of sitting, and suddenly, binge-watching will become your new normal.
Binge-watching has also been normalized through social media. On Twitter and Facebook, I have seen countless memes describing the cycle of binge-watching and being unable to stop.
3. We need to know what happens next.
When I was in third grade, all four members of my family watched the show "24," religiously every week because we needed to know what was going to happen next. Today, we don't have to wait a week to watch another episode. Instead, with the click of button, we are on to the next one. For instance, similar to "24," "Orange is the New Black," always ends in a cliff hanger. As a result, clicking the play button on the next episode becomes all too easy.
4. Because, for many of us, it's what we did when we were young.
According to data from Amazon, 65% of their most replayed shows are children's shows. I certainly can remember binge-watching PBS shows with my sister. We watched "Cyberchase" until we were blue in the face!
For many people, television relieves stress at the end of a long day. Supposedly, one of the best ways for us to reduce our stress levels is to do something that we loved doing as a child. Yes, "sitting is the new smoking," but if television really does help you to chill out, you should utilize it.
5. It's usually already paid for.
When I first started using Netflix, I was using my boyfriend's family account. Watching a show that contained prison sex on their family's account probably wasn't the best choice, but I did it anyway. It was offered to me, and I was happy to try it out for a little while.
I know many people whose apartments have a shared Netflix account that one person consistently pays for. It definitely goes against Netflix's policy, but using someone else's account for a few months actually encouraged me to purchase and pay for my own account.
6. We can develop deeper connections with the characters.
If your life lacks genuine human connection, here's an easy fix--Watch a television show until you feel that you have become friends with all of the characters. Research by Sidneyeve Matrix demonstrated that when episodes of the same show are viewed quickly and one after the other, viewers become bonded to the characters much more quickly.
Although I hate to admit it, watching Orange is the New Black episode after episode has brought me to tears multiple times. When I finished a season of that show, I remember crying at 2 in the morning and thinking, "Life sucks, and then you die." I had become so emotionally attached to fictional characters that one of them dying had brought me to tears.
7. We've been "binge-watching" in some form or another for years.
Remember the phrase "Getting Lost in a Book." For many, this remains a weekly occurrence, but for others, reading has been replaced by watching. Surprisingly, in terms of brain stimulation, this switch may not be as bad as we think.
This age of technology has created a new worry that the internet is changing our brains. If you think about it, everything that you do does indeed change your brain. According to a BBC article by Tom Stafford, very little evidence exists that regular internet use is harming our brains.
If you feel guilty about binge-watching, change your ways, but if watching a show for a few hours is just what you need to reduce your stress, then do what you need to do! No, you're not frying your brain. Just try to not make it a daily habit!
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