Binge-watching Culture and the Pandemic
The 2020 Binge-watching apocalypse: Before, During, and After
Today, we spend much of our time-consuming media through streaming platforms. Their creation has driven much of our popular culture today due to their convenience. Anyone, anywhere, and at any time, can watch their favorite shows. In turn, this has fueled a phenomenon known as binge-watching.
Media streaming was introduced in 2005, says Amy Lamare, an entertainment author; Youtube became the first streaming service available in the United States. Over time, it has inspired many companies to adopt this format, producing diverse content to engage with. The most popular streaming services in North America are currently Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, and Apple TV Plus.
The rise of binge-watching is perhaps most distinctively seen through a 2021 study researching the behavioral and psychological effects of binge-watching. Syed Raza, along with his colleagues, concluded that the rise in competing streaming services has created the binge-watching culture as we know it.
Binge-watching, can be defined as viewing similar entertainment “in rapid succession,” writes Raza. In other words, watching a whole series or set of movies within a franchise in one single sitting. By definition, the word binge is described as “an addiction… [that] provides… immediate gratification,” explains Eve Lamendour, author of the piece “Binge-watching.” It simply is an “uncontrolled behavior.”
However, much of society can not agree with Lamendour’s definition of binge-watching; for them, it is a harmless leisure activity. It is considered a way of getting a break, something to look forward to after a long day of work, and a form of relaxation.
Streaming Services and Binge-watching Culture
At the time of the 2020 pandemic, binge-watching had become enormously popular. It was the number one practice that dominated the lives of teens and young adults; binge-watching was a comforting retreat.
In her article, “Why binge-watching TV might not replace weekly installments,” Esperanza Miyake describes several of the popular streaming services' strategies and effects. For the most part, Netflix has been a more prominent supporter of full-season binge-watching for the last few years, much more than other services.
By unleashing entire groups of episodes at a time, they have been driving the binge-watching ‘craze.’ For instance, in 2020, Netflix released a whole season of Bridgerton (a drama) on Dec. 24th; countless people devoured this entire production in a single day.
That was when the race began: who would be the first person to post a review or spoiler about the show? The benefit of this creative habit was in-direct advertising to Netflix and its productions.
As more and more people turned to this culture as the new norm, people began to post about their individual binge-watching experiences online. “Social media posts mentioning #bingewatching signal the addictive nature of a show and are a social validation of its watch-worthiness,” concludes Miyake. To today’s consumers, engaging with a production before everyone else is exciting; adding the hashtag #bingewatching to their social media posts demonstrates the value of the show and the need to be a part of today’s consumer culture.
As Lamendour defined, binge-watching provides instant gratification that is worthwhile and unmistakably appealing to consumers. This is a clever media strategy by Netflix — satisfying today’s consumer culture's needs.
While Netflix continued to follow the binge-watcher-friendly release schedule, Disney Plus re-introduced an almost forgotten concept in 2019: weekly releases. After the success of The Mandalorian (a series within the Star Wars franchise), Disney found that releasing single episodes weekly created more excitement.
It drew audiences to periodically discuss the plot, characters, and future of the show, adds Miyake. People were perhaps more engaged with the content through this consumption model since they viewed an episode and reflected after each one ended — a recurring approach within the series. Unlike with Bridgerton, consumers did not scramble through an entire series and discuss the show single time after they had finished; they revisited.
Although, not everyone necessarily agreed with these “weekly installments,” as Miyake calls them. Today’s popular culture often prefers consuming media through the binge-watching format due to the simple fact that people don’t want to wait, Lamendour explains. They require instantaneous satisfaction.
In turn, Disney’s weekly episode release approach has created a situation where some viewers will patiently wait for the entire series to become available before consuming it.
The Rise of Binge-watching Culture During the Pandemic
Binge-watching skyrocketed at the start of the 2020 pandemic. Both teens and young adults now had more time at their disposal. With limited in-person interactions and activities, people were driven towards watching media entertainment in a binge-watching fashion.
Professor of Behavioral Addiction, Mark Griffiths, notes that people would watch a combination of countless episodes or numerous movies per day because, for many, this was an escape from reality. Resorting to the safe comfort of a good show helped many cope during this difficult and uncertain time.
A psychological study by Emanuele Fino and his colleagues in 2021 concluded that out of 715 Italian individuals, the average time each individual spent watching entertainment increased tremendously at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic.
While for some or many, binge-watching might not seem as harmful a practice, excessive binge-watching can create its challenges. Feelings of anxiety, stress, depression, and loneliness are the most common symptoms of endless binge-watching, explains Fino. With the help of the pandemic’s isolation, people became significantly more prone to these adverse outcomes.
Furthermore, a survey by Ayushi Dixit found that of 548 individuals, approximately 30% believed they had become addicted to the habit of binge-watching, 39% had issues with sleep, while 43% admitted they were attempting to reduce their unhealthy habit.
It is not surprising that people become addicted to binge-watching with ease. The endless supply of entertainment at their disposal brings a sense of comfort and joy.
Post-Pandemic — The Streaming Service Issue
Most recently, film producers have come to blame binge-cultre as being harmful for streaming services. MetrObelix Radio, the producer of “Is Binge Watching Culture Problematic For Streaming Services?”, presents the struggle between streaming services and binge-watching. According to producers, binge-watching is simply not consumer friendly; it “kills the hype and any potential for future seasons.” However, MetrObelix Radio takes on an alternative view — streaming services were the issue, not binge-watching culture.
MetrObelix argues that there are not many television shows with “stand-alone” episodes, implying that consumers must watch a whole series to have a satisfactory ending to the story. The problem with cliffhanger episodes is the “build-up,” states MetrObelix. Direct pressure is placed on the final episode of the season, which, sometimes, does not deliver. Therefore, streaming services have directly and indirectly contributed to the influx of binge-watching through cliffhanger episode after cliffhanger episode.
The Present — 2022
Almost three years after the beginning of the pandemic, most of the workforce has semi-returned to in-person work and school life. With less time spent on streaming media consumption, binge-watching has decreased. Yet streaming services continue to be convenient entertainment hubs.
Bilge Ebiri is the author of “The Movies Are Gonna Be All Right,” and she believes that binge-watching has reached its inevitable end after the pandemic. This was the “test run,” she calls it. It has shown us the possible mindless future of complete binge-watching; “[w]e’ve come to realize that a lifetime spent on our couches is neither feasible nor desirable,” the years of the pandemic showed us “our theaterless, benevolent-cocoon future,” and that was not what we wanted, Ebiri explains.
Ebiri could be right. Our future might not be destined for the “benevolent-cocoon future” of binge-watching. The pandemic exposed us to something many believed would become the new norm of our lives, but perhaps that was not exactly what we wanted.
We are on the road to change. Netflix is reducing its quantity of significant releases and Disney Plus changing media releases… but as long as streaming services release numerous episodes at a time and bingeing series is a part of our culture, we are all susceptible to addictive binge-watching.
Additional Sources Used in this Article
Emanuele Fino, et al. “Factor structure, reliability and criterion-related validity of the English version of the Problematic Series Watching Scale.” BJPsych Open. 2022. Found on ProQuest Central.
Eve Lamendour. “Binge-Watching.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies. 2020. Found on Credo Reference.
Syed Raza, et al. “Investigating Binge-Watching Adverse Mental Health Outcomes During Covid-19 Pandemic: Moderating Role of Screen Time for Web Series Using Online Streaming.” Psychology Research and Behavior Management. 2021. Found on ProQuest Central.
