Painfully dry eyes, a pounding headache, and an irregular sleeping schedule are all symptoms of “Binge-watching”. Binge-watching is watching multiple television shows/movies in a short period of time, without stopping for breaks. Due to the intriguing, addicting genre of films these days, binge-watching is on the rise. Numerous school breaks such as summer and winter vacation amplify the action of binge-watching. Why do I and my fellow peers commit to the binge? There are oh so many reasons!
Believe it or not, binge-watching can positively consume up your time. “I binge watch to escape reality. I can lay down and focus on something I’m honestly interested in. I usually binge watch on the weekends or after school when I don’t have homework,” binge-watcher Jinjer Washington ‘18 explains.
On the other hand, binge-watching can also negatively use up your time. Binge-watchers often spend hours upon hours, even days watching a marathon of a series. I personally have spent an entire day watching a series. Others have gone on even longer. “The longest I have binge-watched was maybe three days,” Korean drama binger Nusrat Sultana states ‘16.
“You can never just watch one episode of a Korean drama,” adds Joseph Kue ‘17.
Movies and television series are very addicting now because of the unique genres and technological advances. Media services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are at an all time high of users due to their accessibility. Popular genres include asian dramas, dystopian films, and animation. Plot lines are being overused now, but it clearly does not stop me from becoming hooked.
“I’ve binge watched Orange is the New Black and Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix. I’ll make myself stay up episodes after episode because I get obsessed,” Julia Heisler ‘16 shares.
“I like to watch comedies, romances, action, and historical dramas. My favorite show would have to be Gu Family Book,” Joseph continues.
While Korean dramas are the roots of my binge, The Royals has all of my attention at the moment. I love the twisted, immoral family who also happen to be the British monarchy. I binge-watched the entire first season in two days and caught myself up on the second season in one day.
Binge-watching is the kind of act that you know deep down you should stop but you cannot resist. You love how the next episode automatically plays. You love the lack of advertisements and commercials. Before you know it one episode turns into one season. One season turns into the entire series.
Then you are left with a black screen. You can see your reflection through the laptop and it hits you. You are finished. You have watched every single episode of your favorite show. There are no more episodes to watch. There is nothing left to look forward to. Your heart is empty, the sadness kicks in. You have conquered the show, to what avail? To find another show to binge and the cycle goes on.
Binge-watching is one of those things that just kind of happens. The solution is simple, unplug and walk away. However, the fact that multimedia is so accessible is much too tempting to refrain yourself. You love how the next episode automatically loads without you having to budge an inch. Binge-watching is convenient and entertaining short term, contrastingly a waste in the long run. One thing I am sure of is that I won’t stop (binge-watching) until I drop.
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