A Binge-Watching Survival Guide
The advent of binge-watching is changing the way we live our lives, and not always for good.
Many of us are guilty of at some point spending multiple hours at a time watching youtube videos, Netflix series, or movie marathons. These services have intentionally designed their interfaces and their content to be addicting. Some may say that this is just a change in the way that we produce and view content, but with this kind of change, we should always be wary about what we don’t know. Binging tv can negatively impact our sleep cycles, our productivity, and our perception about how we should interact and exchange information.
When we stare at computer or television screens for an extended period, we take in a continuous stream of blue light ( light wavelengths ranging from 400-480nm). Most of the blue light we experience comes from the sun and helps our body set proper sleep/wake cycles. When we spend many hours in front of a computer screen, these blue light wavelengths operate in the same way. Our eyes perceive the blue light and readjust our circadian rhythms accordingly. So binging before bed like many can have adverse effects on the length and quality of our sleep.
When we do not have enough good quality sleep, our bodies fail to operate as efficiently. Often when our productivity falters like this, people think they need to recharge their batteries by binging more. This kind of cyclical behavior causes hours and hours of our time to drift by unproductively.
The interfaces of websites like Netflix are engineered to make this behavior worse. The next video loads a breakneck pace, and the content is created based off of highly detailed data studies determining what we enjoy watching the most, down to every shot.
According to Nielson’s latest attempt at correctly rating the viewership of online content, 361,000 people (myself included) watched all nine episodes of Stranger Things season 2 within 24 hours of it airing. The show was designed down to the thumbnails to be addictive to those who enjoy it.
In addition to its problematic effects on sleep and productivity, it is highly possible that we are not getting as much entertainment value out of watching something all at once. Watching something episode by episode allows us to process and digest the content from each properly, and leaves us satisfied. On the other hand, binge-watching only satisfies us while we are doing it, and leaves us unsatisfied afterward. This lack of satisfaction leads many to watch more, seeking satisfaction from a system designed to do precisely the opposite.
This kind of daily activity and collective cultural movement can have effects on how we expect our world to operate. Instead of understanding that things to take time to develop, we begin to expect all things immediately and intensely. Those who get lost in the world of consuming content start to hope success, relationships, and learning will work this way as well and are disheartened by the truth of the world.
The intent of this post is not to villainize binge-watching and those who do it. Quite the opposite. The purpose of this article is to warn fellow binge-watchers of the perils involved in today’s newest storytelling format so that they may go about their binges in careful moderation. Venture onwards and enjoy the content the internet has to provide, but maybe make the full-series binge a special occasion activity, rather than a daily or weekly habit.
Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4734149/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/q-a-why-is-blue-light-before-bedtime-bad-for-sleep/