Binge Watching Television

 Jessica Toyber

Blog #2

February 13th

     As American society delves deeper into the age of technological fixation, more and more continuous patterns emerge when viewing and polling the entirety of this nation’s obsessions. Teenagers (other age groups are also included, teenagers are the most prominent group) misuse their time sending hashtags to each other, gawking blankly at a television set, uploading pictures on Instagram to boast their infatuation with underage drinking, and comprehensively stalking their friend’s Facebook pictures. As a culture, we fascinate ourselves with distraction; a distraction that can only be wholesomely conquered (how ironic) with high tech gadgets. A colossal portion of society’s engrossment with electronics is found in a commodity so casual that a sweeping percent of society possesses this electronic ‘gadget’ in their own home: a television set. 

   Ever since the ingenious development of TV, society as a whole refuses to peel their eyes off of a show whether it’s being showcased in a theatre, on a television set, a Macbook, or any other device that possesses the ability to stream TV. The human race is so captivated with the idea of virtually this other world found within a box that we engross ourselves into this different universe. Despite the abrogating criticism that so many Americans place on channel surfing and TV watching in general, Kevin Fallon, a writer for thedailybeast.com claims otherwise. In Fallon’s article, he declares that binge watching television is rather beneficial as opposed to the perceived disapproving side. How could this be true? How can a machine that possesses the competence to rob a person’s attention span for several hours a day, if not more, be in any way advantageous?

    61% of Americans binge-watch (key word:binge) television on a daily basis. When being polled about their craving for TV shows, only about 20% of Americans preferred watching weekly TV shows over TV that a person can stream at any time of day without having to wait for the next episode to come out. Again, several people may question this ‘beneficial’ theory: how can TV show access 24/7 be anything but a factor of diversion? The disapproving connotation that comes along with the word ‘binge’ turns off a lot of people who are looking at the bigger picture. But in reality, TV has transformed into more then a high-tech box with little beings. TV has grown into something resourceful and the quality of these “mind-draining” TV shows has become more sophisticated and original, breaking the barriers of already established conventions that so many older TV shows follow.

   Is binging really that atrocious? At least, is it that deplorable in Netflix terms? The negative connotation that so many people associate with watching TV is the biggest factor in opposition of this new theory. If people took their pessimistic views towards the matter and started viewing technology as a helpful part of every day life instead of constantly discussing the negative impacts, binge watching television shows wouldn’t be looked at as an abomination. Binging allows people to immerse themselves into television without having to take the time out of their busy itinerary for a scheduled TV show. Applications such as Hulu and Netflix give people the freedom to roam the internet world of television and categorize their options by genre, date, “similar interests”,e.t.c. The universe of online TV streaming has opened up the doors to an entirely new technological world and instead of rejecting this change, we must embrace it with open arms.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/08/why-we-binge-watch-television.html