Spending too much time in front of screens can have harmful consequences by leading to unhealthy eating habits, antisocial behavior and poor performance at work or school.
- Being stuck in front of a screen can lead to an addiction similar to that of online games.
- Lack of impulse control and forethought are two significant predictors of a problematic binge-watching attitude.
- Motivating factors such as wanting to be entertained or avoiding boredom are also major signs.
It seems a long time ago when viewers had to wait each week to discover a new episode of their favorite series. With the rise of streaming platforms, series are directly accessible by entire season, launching the phenomenon of binge-watching, which consists of watching everything in one go. This model is not without consequences on the health of those who watch them. In a new study, published on November 10 in the journal Frontiers in PsychiatryPolish researchers from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow have profiled those who are most at risk of getting stuck in front of their screen, which can lead to an addiction similar to that of online games.
Deceive the boredom
Many previous studies have suggested that engaging in binge-watching behavior can lead to unhealthy eating habits, antisocial behavior, and poor performance at work or school. This prompted the scientists in the present research to understand what factors can lead to binge behavior. For this, they interviewed a group of 645 people between the ages of 18 and 30 who admitted to having watched at least two episodes of a television program in a single sitting. Participants answered a series of questions that measured their impulsiveness, emotional regulation, and motivations to quickly air a series.
The results suggest that lack of impulse control and foresight are two significant predictors of a problematic binge-watching attitude. Additionally, motivating factors such as wanting to be entertained or avoiding boredom are also major signs. “I think the most interesting finding of the study is that motivational factors are stronger predictors of excessive monitoring of physical hyperactivity than personal predispositions, such as impulsivity”, says lanta Starosta, lead author of the study.
Escape everyday problems
Researchers also found that lack of emotional clarity and motivation to entertain were found to be the strongest predictors of the number of episodes watched in a session. While most participants said they watched between two and five episodes in a single binge-watching session, nearly 20% of the group said they would watch between six and 20 episodes in a single session. “This may be related to problematic binge viewers embarking on marathon TV series, mainly because they want to escape their daily life problems and regulate their emotions, but decide to continue watching other episodes. TV series for more entertaining reasons”, proposes lanta Starosta.
The researchers partly blame the methods used by the platforms to encourage viewers to chain the episodes. “A few seconds to decide whether or not someone should continue watching is not enough to make rational decisions and can lead to loss of control over the time spent watching TV showsassures the main author. However, some platforms have already made changes to help viewers control their behavior. For example, Netflix added the ability to turn off another episode from autoplaying..”
Below, the program Questions aux Experts on the theme: “Children and screens, instructions for use”:
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