In our busy schedule, some of us barely get the time to take the needed breathe of relaxation that our body and mind crave. Yet, how do we manage to indulge ourselves in the futile activity of binge-watching an entire show? That is actually not a mystery. We do it at the expense of taking up a huge load on our mental health. Some do it unconsciously and some consciously. But even the best of us have fallen prey to this guilty pleasure at least once in our lifetime. So, for those who are still ignorant on the subject matter, here’s how binge-watching shows can affect your brain.
Pseudo-Addiction: Watching an episode of a show that you like, produces dopamine in your brain. Dopamine as we know if the “feel good” chemical. It is a natural form of internal reward that signals our brains to do it more because it feels good. And our body and mind starts craving this dopamine as it experiences a drug-like high. Although some people may not see anything wrong with it, however it is similar to symptoms of heroine and other drug addictions. This form of craving something continuously is called Behavioral Addiction as well.
Post-Binge Malaise: This term was coined by Matthew Schneier, New York Times writer. Sometimes when we mass view contents that was supposed to last a week in a single weekend we tend to feel depressed. While watching the show, after 2-3 episodes, we start relating to the fictional situation on screen. We empathize and get emotionally invested in the characters’ journey. So, when the show eventually ends, as all shows do unless it’s the Simpsons, viewers experience situational depression. With no more episodes to watch, an uncontrollable feeling of abandonment and emptiness sets in.
Social Isolation: When we get the enjoyment we need by ourselves watching shows that we like, then why do we have to go outside and interact with people? This is the general thought that works behind the psychology of binge-watchers. A study have shown that most people who binge-watch are lonely and depressed and they try to fill the void by watching shows all the time. But this behavior strips away the remaining shred of socializing ability they have, making them socially awkward around actual people.
Cognitive Decline: Some research has been done on this subject which suggests that people who consume too much content at one go have problem processing complex information. In much simpler words, their ability to think properly and understand a topic has declined over time. people who are subjected to binge-watching have displayed poor verbal memory and the inability to do activities that can potentially stress out their brains.
We are not even going to mention the disruption of our sleep schedule it causes as it is a given. But still we are sometimes willing to fore go all the red lights in the matter when we find something we like to watch. And all the streaming platforms found a way to feed into this problem with their low monthly fee packs. However, we need to pull ourselves together and try our hands at other recreational activities to keep our mind and body active like exercise, reading, socializing, etc.
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