The American family once dropped everything that they were doing to attend the infamous baseball game. Baseball was the hub of culture, children traded cards with players on them, adults were constantly discussing the game, and the players were the Kardasians of their time. These days, a family splits into separate rooms and huddles in front of their respective televisions to watch their favorite show. The ability to stream virtually every show and movie with the click of a button has resulted in a new form of viewing referred to as “binge watching.” The effects of binge watching are obvious with every viewer suffering from the same problems after an indulgence. In order to understand why bingeing is so negative one must understand what it …show more content…
And much like an addiction, in order to feel resolved with the storyline and plot, the watcher must finish the show at any cost. This means that the feeling a person goes through when the show is over, is similar to the low an addict goes through after their high wears off. “The feeling that one gets from binge watching is similar to the high a drug provides. During the process the viewer appears to be in a trance like state, and afterwards they often try to recreate the feeling that was present at the time of viewing. This results in people trying to recreate the happiness they felt while bingeing.” (Devasagayam, Raj) Media bingeing is also similar to binge eating in the way that while participating in the act, a person blocks out outside influences and becomes fully submersed in what is directly in front of them. During the process, the subject does not seem to react to what is going on around them and just immerses themselves in the show they are watching. It is pretty obvious that binge watching is an addiction that many people are facing, especially right after Netflix releases a new season of Orange is The New