Tech Revolution: How Tech Changed the Way We Entertain

Introduction

In the last decade, technology has changed the way people entertain themselves. Various innovations in consumer technology such as smartphones, video streaming services, and video sharing mobile applications have flocked the market. The result of all these innovations is the younger generation spending as little time as possible doing things. For instance, instead of typing out a word, people are using emojis, and 140 character tweets have replaced the email. It is pretty odd that for this younger generation favourite pastime is spending hours on end on the sofa engrossed in the complicated storylines of House of Cards, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad among other TV shows. So why do we love binge watching shows so much? In his article, "Why We Binge Watch Television," Kevin Fallon, a senior entertainment reporter at the Daily Beast, argues about binge-watching and how the society has changed its view towards the phenomenon especially with the rising popularity of video streaming services. This paper investigates the various reasons why more and more people are binge watching as well as looking into the possible negative side of the activity.

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Helps Us Relax

Most people prefer to binge watch at night after a long day at work. For the younger generation, a night spent watching a whole season of Game of Thrones relaxes their mind after the hustles of the day attending classes, having to submit assignments or presentations. By having our thoughts occupied by the activities happening in the shows, we can forget about the stresses of our days. As we get immersed in the dodgy dealings and plot twists of our favourite shows, for a moment, we forget about the nagging emails from our clients or bosses, and we do not even think about the mountain of work awaiting us tomorrow. Scientists have associated the feeling of being calm and relaxed with sitting down and watching a TV show (Panda, Swati, and Satyendra, Pandey 425). Therefore, it makes sense that people would want to watch multiple episodes of the shows for hours on end to feel more relaxed. Furthermore, it is not that people are forcibly coerced into the activity. Most people who binge-watch actually enjoy doing it. in fact, in most cases, people make time to continually watch their favorite shows avoiding any distractions that would interfere with their enjoyment.

Escapism

Traditionally, reading a book was a popular kind of escapism. However, because of the many hours, it requires to read a book, TV shows have slowly taken over as the new kind of escapism. More interestingly, most TV shows are a visual adaptation of our favorite books. Since TV shows offer us the same opportunity to escape into the world of fantasy, crime, romance, or whatever our hearts desire, they are preferred to books because they are less time-consuming. The increase in the number of streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Instant Video is one of the main reasons why binge watching has become a common phenomenon among people. Netflix conducted market research that revealed that more than 80 per cent of its subscribers prefer binge-watching to watching a single episode per sitting because it gets them involved in the longer narratives of the shows (Steiner, Emil, and Kun 13). The idea of binge-watching as a form of escapism is truer today than it was five years ago. According to a recent poll, close to 42 per cent of Americans are more anxious today than they were two years ago (Ferguson, Clark Greer, and Linda 28). During stressful times, people are slowly turning to binge-watching because their favorite shows are a click of the remote away to take their minds off things.

Streaming Services Know How to Work Their Subscribers

If we are being honest, most of the major players including Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, and Hulu know exactly what we want. Currently, Netflix is the most valuable media company in the world valued at $164 billion after overtaking Disney which is worth $152 billion. The huge success of the company was after it decided to use analytics to create a recommendation algorithm which analyses users' information to know about their tastes, habits, and preferences. As a result, Netflix suggestions to each of its subscribers are based on their personal information resulting in accurate recommendations. The company recently cut multimillion-dollar deals with starts like Ryan Murphy, Shonda Rhimes, and the Obamas. While people might think that Netflix is doing so because they have a sixth sense or want to inspire their customers, it is not the case. These deals were based on data models that identified the various stars and likely plots that the company can use to influence their subscribers. In fact, Netflix does not only know the likelihood of success; it also knows which of the subscribers will watch a particular show. Nothing satisfies the lovers of shows like having the right recommendation for us. It would not be surprising to find us glued to the TV for hours watching a new show that is interesting because it reflects our tastes and preferences.

Psychological Reasons for the Phenomenon

There is also are scientific reasons as to why we love binge watching favorite shows. Interestingly, the first reason is that we do it to protect ourselves. Here is the rather unexpected side of the story. According to research, the movements, sounds, colours and sight in the TV shows naturally arouse human beings. The arousal is similar to the natural biological response of our bodies as we keep looking out for predators. The effect of the arousal is that our heart rates slow focusing all our attention on finding and diminishing a potential threat. The second reason makes more sense. When we are binge-watching, our brains continually produce dopamine causing the body to experience a drug-like high. The result of regular binge-watching is that we develop an unintentional pseudo-addiction to the shows as our bodies crave dopamine (Pittman, Matthew, and Kim 128). Shockingly, the neuronal pathways that cause sex and heroin addiction are similar to the ones that cause addiction to binge watching. Like the case of drugs, dopamine makes us feel good when we are enjoying our shows. But once they are over and we switch off the TV, the adverse effects kick in. Scientists suggest that the aftermath of binge-watching is literally mourning a loss. A study found that binge-watchers have higher rates of depression, stress, and anxiety compared to people who do not binge watch (Matrix 119).

How Can We Avoid the Negative Effects?

Video streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Instant Video are continually looking for new ways to keep us glued to our TVs. Other services are also venturing into the billion-dollar business. The activity can be a positive tool in fostering relationships with friends and family and a way to relieve stress from our daily activities. Unfortunately, binge-watching, as beneficial as it is in relieving stress, it may not be the best coping mechanism. As mentioned in the last part, its addiction could be bad for mental health by losing touch with reality. The best approach to ensuring that we are not addicted to binge-watching is proceeding with moderation. By limiting the number of shows or episodes to watch in one sitting, one can be assured of staying connected to reality. More importantly, after hours of binge-watching, people should ensure that they do something productive like exercising or going out with friends.

Conclusion

Advancement and innovations in entertainment technology are only expected to increase. Binge watching is even extending as is now possible to stream the shows on the smartphones. While the activity helps us feel relaxed as we escape into the fantasy world, it is also important to note the negative effects. As mentioned above, binge-watching causes our brain to produce dopamine which can lead to addiction. Scientists have also associated the phenomenon with increased incidences of stress, depression, and anxiety among the binge-watchers. As such, it is important to watch with moderation to avoid such negative effects. For instance, watching an episode or two per night would be better than getting engrossed in a 10-episode series for one night. After all, too much of everything is poisonous.

Works Cited

Ferguson, Douglas A., Clark F. Greer, and Linda Mintle. "Assessing the Role of Mobile Devices in Binge Television Viewing." (2018): 25-28

Matrix, Sidneyeve. "The Netflix effect: Teens, binge-watching, and on-demand digital media trends." Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures 6.1 (2014): 119-138.

Panda, Swati, and Satyendra C. Pandey. "Binge watching and college students: Motivations and outcomes." Young Consumers 18.4 (2017): 425-438.

Pittman, Matthew, and Kim Sheehan. "Sprinting a media marathon: Uses and gratifications of binge-watching television through Netflix." First Monday 20.10 (2015): 128-135 Retrieved from http://firstmonday.org/article/view/6138/4999

Steiner, Emil, and Kun Xu. "Binge-watching motivates change: Uses and gratifications of streaming video viewers challenge traditional TV research." Convergence (2018): 13-15.