Just one more Episode
Have you ever sat yourself down in front of your laptop or the TV after a long day, and decided to start watching that new show everyone’s been talking about. Cut to midnight and you’ve binged half a season, and you still end up being tempted to stay up late to watch just one more episode, even though you know you might end up regretting it the next morning.
Living in a world of distracting smartphones, 140-character tweets, 20-second attention spans, and compulsive multitasking, it seems a little backward that one of the top post-workday hobbies of youngsters is to spend hours being completely engrossed in the entangled storylines of Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Money Heist.
A new type of content consumer has evolved in recent times- Binge Watcher- the love child of the Couch Potato and Channel Surfer, nurtured by streaming devices and entire seasons of shows available at the click of a button.
From the comfort of their home, subscribers to Netflix, Hotstar, and Amazon PrimeVideo can stream thousands of movies and TV shows, all updated regularly. And with the new post-play feature of most OTT platforms, which prompts viewers to play the next episode just as the credits of the last one appear, it’s easier than ever to cave in to the appeal of Walter White and Harvey Specter.
As for the amount of binge-watching, 49% of India’s youth spend 2–3 hours a day binge-watching content. On average, viewers subscribed to three new OTT platforms during the lockdown. A Netflix survey found that 61% of viewers regularly watch 2–6 episodes of a show in one go. Of course, we wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t a feel-good factor associated with it. But if you spent last weekend watching the last season of a web series in its entirety, it might have left you feeling exhausted by the end of it — and thoroughly disappointed that you’re out of episodes to watch.
There are a bunch of reasons that binge-watching gives us such a high — and then leaves us emotionally spent on the couch. Here’s a sneak peek at what happens to our brain when we settle in for a marathon, and how to watch responsibly.
Brain on Binge-watching
Watching episode after episode of a show feels good — but why is that? Studies show that it’s due to the chemicals being released in our brain- dopamine. This chemical gives the body an internal, natural reward of pleasure, hence reinforcing continued engagement in a particular activity. It is the brain’s signal that tells the body, ‘This feels good. You should keep doing this!’ While you binge episodes of your favorite show, your brain continually produced this chemical, causing your body to experience a drug-like high. Almost like experiencing a pseudo-addiction to the show because of your cravings for dopamine.
Spending a considerable share of one’s day delving into the lives of the characters on a show is also fueling the binge-watching experience. Our brains code all experiences-be it a real-life experience, something you watched on TV or read in a book or imagined, even ‘real’ memories. It is known that while watching a TV program, the areas of the brain that are activated are the same as when we experience something live. We tend to get attached to characters, engaged in storylines, and truly care about the outcomes of conflicts.
Identification with characters in a show or relating it with ourselves is another factor that makes shows popular. ‘Wishful identification’ is where the storyline and characters offer the opportunity for fantasy and diving into a world the viewer wishes they lived in (ex. ‘F.R.I.E.N.D.S’, ‘America’s Next Top Model’). Also, the identification with power, prestige, and success makes it delightful to watch. ‘Parasocial interaction’ is a one-way connection where viewers feel closely connected to an actor or character in the TV show.
The Let Down: Once the Binge Is Over
Have you ever felt upset after completing a series? Dr. John Mayer, a clinical psychologist, believes that when we finish binge-watching a series, we actually mourn the loss. “We often go into a state of depression because of the loss we are experiencing. We call this situational depression because it is stimulated by an identifiable, tangible event. Our brain stimulation is lowered (depressed) such as in other forms of depression.”
In a study conducted by the University of Toledo, the people who identified themselves as binge-watchers were observed to have greater levels of anxiety, stress, and depression than others. Although examining the habits that come with binge-watching, for starters binge-watching can quickly become isolating, it’s not hard to guess why it would start to impact our mental health.
We are wired to connect, if we immerse into a virtual world, and disconnect from humans, and over-connect to TV at the cost of human connection, we will eventually face emotional anorexia. Even though relationships and the work of life are difficult, at the end of the day it is more enriching, developmental, and social.
If you constantly find yourself choosing binge-watching Netflix over spending time with friends and family, it might be a sign that this habit is making way into harmful territory.
Binge-watching is a valuable stress reliever as well as a behavior ingrained within us, so there’s no reason to feel guilty while selecting “I’m Still Watching” three times in a row.
But it’s important to realize that there’s a fine line between healthy viewing habits and addictive behavior. Decide your watch time in advance, commit to it, then cut yourself off and balance your binge-watching with activities like exercise or spending time with family and friends. Activities that can provide additional sources of enjoyment, make it much less likely that you’ll be addicted to a show.
Striking a balance between your binge-watching and other essential activities is a perfect way to reap all the enjoyment of the streaming experience — without suffering the negative consequences.
