Damian Gordon/Staff Writer
The feeling of despair hits like a family member recently dying; but if they did, you wouldn’t know because you’ve been watching all the seasons of the “X-Files” and can’t even remember what human contact is like. This feeling isn’t because of aliens, just another downside to binge-watching.
This is a new age where a viewer doesn’t have to tune in at eight to watch their favorite show anymore; they can simply just record or stream it for the next day.
Shows don’t have to be released episodically anymore and many people are choosing to binge them all and that’s not very good for the medium or the people.
“You buy something new, but then it gets old,” Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, said. “At first, a new TV show is really exciting, but the more you watch, the less you enjoy it over time.”
Recent programs on Netflix, such as “Narcos” or “Jessica Jones,” release all their episodes at once, leaving the choice up to the user on how they’ll consume it.
This method of releasing content isn’t good for the fans as this creates a scattered community where one person may be on episode two while another has already finished the entire season in the first week of its release.
Watching a show like “The Walking Dead” every Sunday leaves room for a forum of discussion and speculation to happen while fans wait for the next episode over the week.
Long binge sessions can give similar feelings like the one’s after a big Thanksgiving dinner. A participant takes in so much only to end up asking questions such as “why did I do this to myself?” or the overly dramatic “is this how I die?”
According to a study by MarketCast, binge-watching isn’t even a social activity as over half of bingers prefer to watch their shows alone. You know what they say, the family that binges together, stays as far as humanly possible from each other while doing it.
Think back to running through a season of a show. There’s probably not another person in the room sharing that experience. Compared to watching something with a group like “NFL,” “American Idol” or even “LOST” in its heyday, binging can be isolating.
Episodic shows also have room for improvement since a series with longer seasons usually take a mid-season break and the writers can get feedback. They then get a chance to fix any mistakes from the first half of the season.
Shows “On Demand” are just another factor causing this generation to have a shorter attention span. I’m surprised when relationships even last more than a week these days because of this lack of attention.
Binging can turn a masterpiece like “Breaking Bad,” which slow cooked its story up through the seasons to it’s boiling point, into mere fast food where you consume, enjoy and forget about it later.
There’s not really a moment to sit down and digest what just happened as the opening theme is already playing for the next episode.
I enjoyed “Daredevil” last year, but a lot of sequences just blend together in a blur when thinking back on them. This problem isn’t due to the quality, but rather a quantity of how many episodes were watched so closely to each other.
This is where self-restraint comes into play, except those who have that probably already wait week-to-week for a new episode. As for me, I’ll have a pile of books and homework from school to keep me restrained from doing anything.
Disclaimer:
The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of FIU Student Media Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community.
Image courtesy of Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/daniel_afanador/6578710983/in/photolist-b2kBzr-35QVWT-hso5e-6HrDec-hso5f-3eaSpJ-6YJhDH-4cMfiS-5UsZgf-5RFMJn-7pCcqg-4m7k6S-3fsy8-nghJpt-nxNsHh-nghUqb-nghHV2-nvJzcb-nxup1F-nghBHk-nxwvZC-nghSrQ-nxwvCA-nvJyoh-nxNrdU-HCnHX-6nsULr-5rQKpe-4CGm3s-9eZSSK-5UsNNL-66TP1a-6HvXK3-bddWi-8WmyQW-6Hw5rf-6Hw1po-6HvZCE-BymrSb-9ihTfE-uqvAhB-kHDfX-GvGt4-pY4mm1-rRvohY-6gz5h-eA5nMs-enTcF-6dfH1v-a1WxHN
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