BINGE WATCHING: HEALTHY OR UNHEALTHY
by: APOORVA JAIN
“I think binge-watching is highly understudied and under-discussed,” says Kruger, clinical assistant professor of Queens hospital.
Binge-watching is so common nowadays. According to a report, 60% of adults who watch shows on-demand said they binge-watch television, defined as watching two or more consecutive episodes of the show. Binge-watching as observed cultural phenomena has become popular with the rise of video streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon prime video, and Hulu through which the viewer can watch television shows and movies on demand. Binge-watching is also increasing because all these video streaming services are encouraging it by releasing the episodes of the shows simultaneously instead of releasing it once per week which is opposed by the industry-standard model.
You decide to check out a new show on Netflix. Before you realize it, you are nine episodes deep and its 4 am. Binge-watching may be satisfying at the time, but it ruins what TV shows make in the first place.
Binge-watching devalues the show because when a person watches an episode of the show once per day instead of binge-watching it gives him time to think about it, discuss the episode with friends and family and dissect everything that happened. Week after week for a full season, these thoughts and feelings build up. This leads to deeper relationships with characters and a better understanding of the world they live in. But when a person binge-watch this show, it takes away the most valuable part of what makes TV so great. The acting, writing, and storyline all become muted in a sense. The emotional impact of what happens to characters is lessened when the buildup is removed.
Binge-watching can become addictive and lead to depression. There is a reason people love binge-watching because it feels good. Enjoyable activities cause the brain to produce dopamine, giving the body a natural feeling of pleasure. Since this feels good, the body and brain naturally want to keep doing it. The problem is that it can become addictive, of course, this addiction is not the same as drug addiction in a full sense of the word it is more comparable to the way the body reacts to the drug it is initially introduced to the system. The addiction is not present at that time, but the body knows it feels good. It then wants positive feelings more, which can cause the user to take more of drugs. Binge-watching TV shows are not that bad of course but the point remains the same as whatever causes the brain to release dopamine is bad as it creates addiction. There is another side to this as depression comes along with the completed show. Once binge-watching sessions are over, situational depression sets in because this high is over.
It can also take a toll on real-life relationships as on a longer timeline, the brain can start to desire this feeling more than human companionship, which may lead to issues in real-world relationships. This can become a problem when shows are binged alone as it can become a substitute for human companionship. Instead of connecting with friends and family, this connection is made with TV. This comes at an emotional cost, especially it gets to the point where nights with Netflix are chosen over time spent with family and friends.
Sitting for long periods is not only bad on the back and general posture but also the heart. A study published in the journal of American heart association showed that people who watch TV shows for more than 3 hours a day double the risk of premature death.
Kruger says “We don’t know what comes first, and that’s the interesting part about this: are you stressed, anxious and depressed and then you watch TV or do you watch TV, realize you have so much to do and then you become stressed, anxious and depressed?”.
By reading all of the above informations, we can conclude that although the cons of binge-watching weigh out the pros, it does not mean that binge-watching once in a while is bad as it can work as a stress reliever too. The habit of binge-watching should be controlled in the best possible manner so that it does not leads to addiction.
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