Binge watching television: why do we do it?

Everyone loves winding down with a bit of TV after a long day. Although our TV sets have changed over time (remember those chunky CRTs?), television has been the centre of lounge rooms everywhere since the 1950s and the love affair has never waned.  

For some of us, TV is a small but wonderful part of our nightly routine – for others, it’s a full-blown hobby. 

With the rise of on-demand TV and streaming services, it’s never been easier to sink into the couch and watch back-to-back episodes of cult-favourite shows like The Office, Stranger Things or Squid Game.  

This marathon-type viewing is colloquially known as binge watching. It has been defined as ‘consecutively watching episodes of shows with continuous content, rather than based on the time spent watching or the number of episodes watched.’ So, if you’re watching two or more episodes of the same show in a row, it’s a binge! 

Binge watching television: many of us do it, but have you ever wondered why? With the help of Ash Chitnis from the Deakin Faculty of Health, we investigate what why we watch TV in the first place, and what gives us the twinge to binge. 

Why do we watch TV? 

Whoever called TV the ‘idiot box’ didn’t know what they were missing. Although we’re streaming more, and watching less free-to-air TV and less local content these days, we generally watch TV for the same reasons we always have. Some of us turn on the tele to gain access to trustworthy information (think news programs and documentary-style shows), while some of us lock in to lose ourselves in a good show; escapism, at its finest.. 

‘When a show or episode begins, I am greatly invested in the story/characters, because it’s a mini getaway from reality (and who wouldn’t want that?!). It’s an opportunity for me to indulge in a world of fantasy,’ says Chitnis.  

And that’s an idea backed up by research, too, with a London Business School paper suggesting that watching TV takes up space in our brains and helps us escape from our worries.  

So, maybe binge watching television has some benefits beyond just entertaining us. 

Why do we binge-watch some shows and not others? 

So, what gives a television show that ‘X factor’ that makes us want to  binge watch? 

If you look at lists of binge-worthy shows from sites like Rotten Tomatoes, Entertainment Weekly and Collider (definitely bookmark these if you need something new to sink your teeth into),you’ll see some (seemingly) starkly different choices  – dramas like Game of Thrones and the White Lotus, sitcoms like Seinfeld and addictive reality TV like the Great British Bake Off.  

But what do these shows have in common? While they’re definitely different, these big-name shows are all engaging with great characters and personalities, fun storylines and pacing that makes us want to keep on watching to find out what happens next. 

But, while this is a solid theory, it’s hard to say with any real certainty why we binge watch some TV shows and not others.  

Some of us find it relaxing to rewatch our favourite shows, while Chitnis believes that some genres simply seem to unite us all.  

‘I think rom-coms are a common one across the board, they appeal to everyone I suppose!’ says Chitnis. ‘I think more often than not, everyone just hopes for a happy ending.’ 

How has binge-watching changed television? 

Binge watching is actually a pretty new phenomenon – so new that the term was named Collins dictionary’s word of the year only a decade ago. Safe to say that it’s changed our vocab, but has binge watching changed television itself? 

Binge watching television ‘shapes the way some entertainment is formed on a core level’, according to Collider, and there are some interesting ways that binge-worthy television in the streaming era has evolved from the old commercial TV days.  

We’re much more inclined to watch multiple episodes in a row now, meaning there’s no need for the ‘previously on’ recap at the start of episodes (that might actually ruin the flow of the show). Storylines have also changed with the rise of binge-watching. Where self-contained episodes used to be more common, these days, storylines tend to span multiple episodes.  

Can you be addicted to watching TV? 

Watching a whole season of your favourite TV show is definitely a fun time, but can it go too far? Can binge watching television actually be addictive? 

For a start, it really depends on who you are, because binge watching television doesn’t appeal to all of us.  

‘It definitely differs from person to person, and the kind of time you have on your hands and what fits your schedule,’ says Chitnis. ‘I am a binge-watch kind of person – I absolutely do not have the patience to keep waiting for episodes. I would rather wait until a bunch of the episodes are out and then watch them.’

When that binge viewing goes too far, though, habits can veer into addiction territory.  

One study suggests that, when we’re binge watching television for reasons other than fun (such as to substitute r social interaction or to ease feelings of loneliness), it can get ‘problematic’.  

Other studies have suggested that binge-watching itself could be a type of addictive behaviour, so it’s fair to say that, in some cases, you can be addicted to watching TV.  

Does binge-watching television cause sleep problems? 

We always hear about how reading a book before bed can actually be good for you, but is the same true of television?  

It seems that, for some of us, binge watching television might keep us up at night with thoughts of what we’ve just watched.  

‘Like most content you consume, not only via television but also social media, it has a way of sneaking into your subconscious and keeps you thinking about it,’ says Chitnis.  

This phenomenon – where you keep thinking about things – is called ‘cognitive arousal’ and sleep studies have found that it can make it hard to fall asleep at night.  

In those studies, the cause of the cognitive arousal was binge watching television. The habit resulted in ‘poorer sleep quality, increased fatigue and more symptoms of insomnia,’ which wasn’t associated with regular TV viewing.  

So, does binge-watching television cause sleep problems? If you’re someone who struggles to get to sleep, it might be best to avoid binge watching, but the effects can be very personal – as Chitnis suggests. ‘It depends on what you watch, and it can go two ways – it can either put you right to sleep or keep you awake all night!’ 

Binge watching TV: a final word 

While in some cases there are some more problematic forces at play, in most scenarios, binge watching TV is just a bit of fun.   

‘I like having something new to watch during weekends but also finish it and move onto the next new thing,’ Chitnis says. ‘It grabs my attention, just long enough for me to enjoy it thoroughly and get on with my life. I am not sure if that is a benefit, but whatever works for you!’