The binge watching

As streaming platforms, on-demand content and digital media have become an integral part of modern life, the term binge viewing has pedestaled itself as a cultural norm that significantly altered how audiences methodize their viewership of TV shows, movies and other performances of entertainment. Watching a number of episodes or an entire TV show season in one sitting (it happens after hours and days though!) is called binge viewing. A time-consuming pastime that could appear quite contemporary, in reality — such trends originate from older-based media consumption practices — had an endless number of crucial cultural and tech evolutions that served as a catalyst to its befitting success in this very modern era.

This article provides an in-depth examination of binge viewing, including a history of the phenomenon, the rise and role of streaming platforms, the psychological effects on viewers, storytelling implications and some consequences for both audiences and entertainment creators.

Weekly Viewing of Early Television

Just think about how different it was: Watching TV use to be episodic and scheduled. For much of the 1950s and 1960s, there was one show each week to watch an episode at a set time. Television watching was social—families congregated around the TV for shared experiences and family life revolved around weekly viewership. There was scant room for viewers to wiggle, the episodic nature of television making it imperative that each episode be self-contained or need a cliffhanger issue to keep audiences coming back the following week.

Cable television, with hundreds of more choices in the 1980s and 1990s also made it possible to watch reruns of shows, but the form of watching weekly episodes continued.

DVD Box Sets and the Boosting Power of Syndication

The first major break from the traditional weekly viewing occurred with DVD box sets in the late '90s to early 2000s. Recent DVD releases originating from such television programming have come to allow the viewers full seasons of a particular witicum, allowing for hours of practice over an individual week. Now a fan of a popular series could re-watch their beloved show in the comfort of their home instead of waiting for weekly broadcasts. This was a starting point for some bingeing — though it took longer and felt more purposeful than today's immediate streaming option.

At the same time, availability of popular TV shows in syndication changes how viewers engaged with content. People could expand on those series, but they still had to do so in an episodic structure with the availability of watching past episodes of favorite shows when it worked for them.

The Onset of Real Binge Watching (Streaming Services)

The Netflix Revolution

Although the concept of binge viewing existed prior to streaming platforms as we know them today, Netflix is closely linked to the type of octopus-like binge we recognize now. Netflix started out as a DVD rental service in the early 2000s, but the launch of its streaming service managed to make Netflix an even bigger step forward in 2007. In the beginning, Netflix allowed viewers to stream a plethora of TV shows and movies whenever they wanted. That significantly transformed the experience of watching TV because suddenly, instead of having to wait for a new episode each week and only experiencing an incomplete narrative in installments, large parts or all of entire seasons worth of shows sat just a few clicks away at any given time.

2013 marked a turning point for binge watching, thanks to the release of Netflix’s "House of Cards. House of Cards was a little different, though — Netflix put all 13 Season One episodes on its stream simultaneously, letting audiences access them whenever they wished (by contrast, Old School TV rolled out shows weekly). This line of thinking was cemented further by the company's release of entire seasons for these shows, like they did with "Orange is the New Black" and "Stranger Things."

Other Streaming Platforms

The success of Netflix provoked other platforms to do the same. Since then, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, and Apple TV+ embraced models that allow audiences to binge-watch entire seasons of the shows as soon as they hit their platforms. This trend of binge-type releases has continued with the likes of Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" and Amazon Prime's "The Boys", while some platforms remain true to the episodic format established in traditional broadcast. Even these services incorporate binge-style viewing elements, releasing multiple episodes or an entire season at a time to offer flexibility.

And so the binge-viewing culture took off, exposing an audience to a method of consumption that many conveniently found entertaining as several seasons worth of programs were suddenly available at their fingertips. With the increasing popularity of smart TVs as well as tablets and smartphones, accessing streaming services became more accessible than ever and allowed everyone to watch their beloved series at any time and from anywhere.

Dangers of Binge-Watching on Mental Health.

The Reward System

Binge watching, psychologically refers to the way in which we are utilizing our brain's reward system – a system that is driven by dopamine. For example, when viewers binge watch as they sign onto watch the next episode of a show straight away again and again the pleasure by receiving an ongoing narrative rewards that behavior. Being curious regarding what happens next in a show, especially with giant cliffhangers at the tip of episodes, drives an addicting cycle of viewers wanting to continue watching so as to see the following twist or event.

For a lot of viewers, when watching a series they feel an innate impulse to power through the seasons to steer clear of any spoilers or even because they have quickly attached themselves emotionally to the characters/plot. And that is called the "binge-watching impulse" — due largely to the immediacy and literal click of a button access of it all.

Stylistic Emotional Self-Engagement and Escapism

It also offers an avenue for escapism, a break from stress and anxiety or from tougher moments in life. For many viewers, binge-watching is more of an experience – also as they start to get emotionally attached to the characters and follow them as they go through their struggles and victories. This depth of engagement can be cathartic or relieving, where viewers escape into the narrative space of the show.

On the other hand, binge-watching does have setbacks too. Streaming sites have gotten a bad rap, too: After all, viewers are losing sleep by bingeing episodes and entire seasons into the wee hours. Such behavior can damage both physical and mental health, especially if it involves neglected duties, altered sleep cycles or sedentarism.

Consequences to Storytelling and Production

The Transformation of Television Shows

The option to binge entire seasons in one sitting has changed shows and how they are made. Traditional TV used to use weekly cliffhangers or episodic storylines to ensure that people returned the following week. Yet, with binge viewing, they can work outside the traditional season arc.

The kind of long-form storytelling used by Netflix with "House of Cards" and other streaming hits--where plot points span multiple episodes, so they can include fully fledged character arcs and subplots. The pacing of episodes has been different too; shows no longer have to stick to broadcast schedules or make "filler" eps to extend a season. This has led to a trend towards short episodic high quality narratives that are bingeable.

Effects on the traditional model of television

In addition to this, the binge-skilled have even transformed the TV production normal. Shows used to be formatted for weekly episodes, and success was simply determined by how many eye-balls tuned in (and bought ads) that week. Nowadays, streaming platforms have a subscription-based subscription model that is successful if retained and engaged viewers coupled with data analytics.

Furthermore, even TV ratings are just part of the equation as a lot of the viewership will be on-demand via platforms. For broadcasters, this has meant rethinking how to build an audience and how shows are conceived and marketed.

Cultural and Social effects of binge-watching

Common Experiences and Social Media

Fortunately, binge-watching enters the scene to create a new shared entertainment experience in the social media era. Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram provide fans with the opportunity to talk about episodes, share theories, and have conversation around the content they are viewing. The online version of the "water cooler moment" - with hashtag trends and fan communities congregating to discuss plots, speculate outcomes, and share reactions.

This, however, has caused a new FOMO (fear of missing out), as audiences feel pressured to maintain pace with shows to participate in conversations or prevent spoilers. The pace of content consumption has resulted in a more fragmented cultural moment, where hit shows present a common touchpoint but lack the same sweeping impact on society as many previous pop culture milestones — where an entire country would turn to their box sets once a week and share in unison nearly every laugh and tear.

Final thoughts: The Daydream of Ever Binge-Watching

More than perhaps anything in the history of entertainment, binge-viewing has forced viewers and creators alike to rethink old pictures of how we watch. While in traditional modes of distribution and release there are more rigidly structured timings for releasing content, streaming services have allowed audiences to come to content on their terms. With the rising demand for instant gratification, storytelling is becoming in-depth, episodic formats are maturing, and the brand's presence on social media is growing ever stronger.

That said, the expanded role of binge-watching certainly has some downsides (including the impacts on health, sleep and interaction with others). Although binge watching continues to be a key aspect of contemporary media usage, discussion of its clear-cut long-term effects is just getting started.