Why should we theorize more about BingeWatching?
And we can no longer ignore this issue
Google “Binge Watch”. Want to bet what will you find? Besides it definition,
the second search you will find is a list of TV Shows worth Binge watching.
Is binge-watching bad?
Not per se. Is alcohol bad? Well if you drink it in moderation once in a while it doesn’t have to be. If you do it on the daily, if you use it to socialize, to survive, to go by, then, perhaps, it’s an issue worth adressing. We all know too much drinking is a problem. As a society we are good at identifying it, but we are still honoring Binge-watching as if it were another harmless habit.
I won’t talk about the phyiscal and objective detriment it means to your life. You can search for it on the internet and it will tell you. I’m here to scream that we need to stop normalizing binge wathcing, understand why it happens and how it can take over our lives.
You might think I’m overreacting. Perhaps I am. I’m based on my personal experience, Read this and conclude for yourself if I am. But like not all alcohol drinkers aren’t alcoholics, not all binge-watchers are addicts. However, I am. I’ve been blessed with this marvelous characteristic that makes me want to stare at a screen until my eyes fall off whenever life feels not good. And this can go one for days on end.
But I like binge-watching!
Sure you do, so do I. Your task now it’s identifying if you, like me, are a slave to it or whether you got lucky and can separate from it. And probably they aren’t as gratifying as you made them sound.
Check this if you are screaming on the inside But Netflix and YouTube add value to my life! as you are reading this.
Look, perhaps you do have a good relationship with binge-watching. I can’t judge that. But I do ask you to analyze if you skip social commitments to keep watching. If you neglect your basic needs to finish an episode (do you do the same with work?). If binge-watching is the highest point of your day. Then, perhaps, you would like to join this journey with me. Start by writing your story.
Starting a conversation on binge-watching
I know I’m not the only one who has identified her problem and is seeking a way out. Maybe you haven’t identified it yet. It took me over 7 years to develop this addiction and over two years to realize it and do something. I am still working on it. It’s a long way, but it gets more exciting by the day.
This is why I’ve created a new publication and I would love for you to join in. I want this to be a safe space for us to talk about our relationship with binge-watching. How it affects our life and how to get away from it.
I bet, and I’ve said this before, binge-watching will become pathological in a few years. There will be centers that treat it like rehabs do for drugs and alcohol. Yes, I know you think I’m nuts. But ten years ago we all thought it was impossible for rehab centers to treat video game addiction. Now they exist.
We are getting more and more lonely and the screens are substituting this coldness. This will only increase and get worst. But there’s a lot we can do to combat it and I call you, yes you, the one that kept reading because this has, somehow, resonated with them. To talk about it, about your experience.
Love,
North
Previous posts and reference Links
- To check the rules: https://link.medium.com/RmuBLTeCN6
- Do you think I’m overreacting? Read this.
- To comprehend my determination you can check a former story “How I fixed (more like struggling to figure out) my Binge-Watching Addiction”
- To check the last post on this matter: June, July, and August Update | Dear BingeWatcher #10
- To figure out the abbreviations and nomenclature I’ve invented for this series check: “Vocab and Basics. | Dear BingeWatcher #2” https://link.medium.com/xpRqv5MEU6
