If your friend told you they’ve been binge-eating recently, how would you respond? Maybe you’d try to help them out or point them to resources. What if they told you they binged the last season of “Stranger Things” in one night? Would you still be concerned? Probably not, but maybe you should be.
In a world of streaming services, binge-watching is common — 62% of surveyed Americans admit to binge-watching regularly. Despite our concern with bingeing in other areas, such as eating and drinking, we normalize binge-watching as a habitual practice. We need to acknowledge that binge-watching is still bingeing. It consumes more value from our lives than it adds.
“I think even just acknowledging your boredom, like drawing, doing anything else to fill the time rather than being hypnotized by the screen,” said Drew Franke, a philosophy and economics junior who “boycotts” mindless TV watching. “It’s part of what being human is. How do you fill the gaps of time when you don’t know what to do?”
Bingeing refers to the excessive indulgence in an activity and is usually considered an unhealthy, addictive coping mechanism. In most cases, bingeing is something we promote recovery from, and excessive bingeing is considered a disorder, like binge eating disorder or alcoholism.
Yet, when it comes to watching TV, we seem to encourage bingeing. People post their recent binges on social media, news outlets publish must-binge lists and relatable binge-watch content justifies it as a social norm. Many people watch TV to escape FOMO in cultural conversation, as it’s become so ingrained in society that people feel the need to binge to stay relevant.
Many people binge-watch for the same reasons they binge eat or drink: to relieve discomfort, negative emotions and stress. Young adults binge-watch the most, up to 12 hours, and it makes sense. College students are stressed and lonely, and bingeing is an accessible, easy way to escape those stressors. That doesn’t make it healthy or helpful.
“Adolescents, their reward system is still being developed, so they may seek activities that provide immediate relief from stress,” said Caitlin Rinehart, a clinical and behavioral research associate with Dell Medical.
Research shows that binge-watching, when used as a coping mechanism, can increase loneliness, stress and anxiety. It also increases procrastination, disrupts goal progress, can lead to feelings of guilt and interrupts sleep patterns. It’s easy, low-effort instant gratification that can lead to unhealthy parasocial relationships and protects people from learning how to deal with stress. It can be an addiction as streaming platforms are designed to keep you hooked.
“Binge-watching can be problematic,” Rinehart said. “You might have issues with school, not getting your school work done because you’re binge-watching, or not socializing or connecting with your peers because you’re self-isolating and binge-watching. That creates additional stress and complications. You take it away by binge-watching, then you get into this kind of negative feedback loop.”
Under the right circumstances, binge-watching isn’t completely dangerous. If you intentionally plan to binge, rather than watch on impulse, it can boost well-being.
Next time your friend spends an entire weekend watching a TV show by themselves, maybe offer to watch a weekly episode together or suggest another activity you can do together. By pacing the content you watch, entertainment can be enjoyable and healthy rather than harmful.
Coppa is a journalism sophomore from Charlotte, North Carolina.
