In the past several years, with the popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, and the release of epic series like Game of Thrones, blasting through an entire season (or more) of a show in a short amount of time has become a normal phenomenon for many. Yet, where do you draw the line? When is too much? That's what I'm going to talk about today.
Now, although I don't necessarily think binging a show is the healthiest thing on the planet (neither is necessarily reading for 12 hours straight either ;) ), I absolutely do it as well, and think that it's a great treat from time to time. And yet, I also experience some serious downfalls with it:
1) Physical symptoms - exhaustion, neck and shoulder strain, stiffness
2) Lack of recollection for details - I kind of remember what happened in the show, but what was that person's name?
3) Less satisfaction - overall, the show isn't as good as if I had waited and watched it in stages
4) Stronger sense of loss - when it's over, if it's a short series, there is this strong sense of "nothingness" after. A longer duration between episodes gives you time to adjust to it not being there every moment, and you don't instantly go "yeah, but what do I do now?"
So, keeping those things in mind, is it really worth binging a show? Sometimes.
I think it's fun for short shows, or to binge an entire season and then watch things slowly for following seasons. I also love doing this when rewatching a season before the next one comes out as a refresher, but I definitely advise (at least for myself) against making it a habit.
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Do you like to binge watch shows? What are some of the positives to doing it for you? Do you find there to be any drawbacks?
I'm not really big on binging although we have at times. We usually watch about 3 episodes at a time and then wait a week for the next batch.
ReplyDeleteKaren @ For What It's Worth
Sounds like a good strategy!
DeleteI can't watch a lot of tv show episodes in a row. I get the worst headache and I end up getting sick of the show!
ReplyDeleteRight? No fun when that happens!
DeleteI don't have Netflix or anything of the sort, but if I did...I don't think I would be tempted to binge shows. I think you nailed it with "less satisfaction" and "stronger sense of loss", but maybe especially the first one. A few years ago, when one of our free channels started to air the Law & Order series (the original one), that I hadn't seen since I was young, they did this thing where they aired 3 episodes in a row sometimes, and I watched them all because I didn't want to miss a thing (little I knew that they would go on a L&O rampage, so to speak, and continue showing it back to back to this day LOL). After the L&O hangover, though, I had trouble remembering what I had just seen 😅. My mind was too packed (also because I watched it religiously and basked in every detail). One needs to elaborate a little...unless you're watching a show just to kill time.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea for a discussion!
Absolutely! I completely agree. Yes, sometimes it's nice to just watch something to fill the time, but I usually try to do that with something I have seen before. I like to process things better if I am watching it for the first time.
DeleteThank you :)