Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Sitting back and binge watching House of Cards or Game of Thrones might be good way to spend a lazy winter day, but new research suggests that such activity could actually be a sign of loneliness and depression.
As part of their research, Yoon Hi Sung, Eun Yeon Kang and Wei-Na Lee from the University of Texas at Austin interviewed 316 people between the ages of 18 and 29, asking them how often they watched television, how often they binge-watched, and how often they experienced feelings of loneliness, depression, and self-regulation deficiency.
They discovered that the more lonely and depressed the study participants were, the more likely they were to watch marathon sessions of their favorite TV shows – using the programming as a way to separate themselves from their negative emotions.
They also found that those who lacked the ability to control their behavior were more likely to binge-watch, as they were unable to keep from clicking “next” even when they knew that there were other things they had to do.
According to the researchers, there has been little empirical evidence on the practice of binge-watching television, as it is a relatively new phenomenon. However, psychological factors such as loneliness, depression, and self-regulation deficiency have long been identified as indicators of binge-type or addictive behaviors in general.
For instance, people who are feeling lonely or depressed tend to engage in addictive behavior in order to temporarily get away from reality, and a person’s lack of self-control has been shown to impact the level of his or her addictive behavior. In analyzing binge-watching behavior, the researchers said that they started by using this collection of known psychological factors.
“Even though some people argue that binge-watching is a harmless addiction, findings from our study suggest that binge-watching should no longer be viewed this way,” Sung explained in a statement Thursday. “Physical fatigue and problems such as obesity and other health problems are related to binge-watching and they are a cause for concern.”
“When binge-watching becomes rampant, viewers may start to neglect their work and their relationships with others,” the study author added. “Even though people know they should not, they have difficulty resisting the desire to watch episodes continuously. Our research is a step toward exploring binge-watching as an important media and social phenomenon.”
Binge watching may not be completely terrible, however. A 2014 survey of 1,000 Netflix users found that more than half of them would be more willing to exercise if they could watch marathons of their favorite movies or TV shows while doing so. In addition, 45 percent said they would be more motivated to exercise if they could watch those programs on demand for free while working out.
Sitcoms were the most popular watch-while-you-exercise choice, according to the survey. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they liked to laugh while working out, while 27 percent preferred dramas, 24 percent liked sci-fi/fantasy and 20 percent would watch reality shows.
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