My journey with binge watching

It truly consumes you—in a good and bad way.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Welcome to the first edition (hopefully many to come) of ‘Twenty Something’ — the newsletter where I share stories about everything and everyone who piques my interest.

This week, it’s binge-watching!

I wasn’t much of a binge-watcher until Netflix came to India in 2016. Before that, like all the generations before us, I used to wait a week before watching a new episode of every TV show I loved.

Netflix changed my life in a lot of ways. Besides upsetting my sleep cycle and furthering my addiction to TV — it also introduced me to binge-watching as a concept. At first, I didn’t get the appeal. It was only after I watched 6 episodes of Gilmore Girls in one day, that I realised how unstoppable this newly discovered power of mine was. I could watch a show, any show, and watch however many episodes I wanted — in one go.

For a 20-year-old Gemini with inherent restlessness and zero patience, this was a disaster waiting to strike. And it did.

The pandemic admittedly worsened my binge-watching habits too. Since March 2020, I have found myself bingeing multiple TV shows until extremely odd hours. Namely, K-dramas that engross me to the point of no return.

I started the iconic and massively popular K-drama “Penthouse” on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago. I was simply looking for something to watch during my lunch breaks. Little did I know this drama would consume every ounce of my being within a few hours.

I found myself watching the first season of Penthouse until 5 am two days in a row. It was extremely aggravating yet amusing to note how hooked I was to this show. It was also an exhilarating experience because dramas like this one, with a gripping storyline, and incredible acting, and to top it off, some crazy twists and turns can consume you.

When you have all the episodes of one (or multiple) seasons of a show at your beck and call, the urge to not binge is an extremely commendable trait I admire in some people. Because I don’t have it.

Thankfully, I’m not alone in this lack of self-discipline either. A study indicated that most Netflix users choose to binge instead of slowly devouring some of their favourite shows. The most binged shows are also usually within genres like Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi, Horror, and Thriller. The suspense is the symbiotic factor here, because the more we watch, the more we know, and that thirst is unquenchable with a well-produced show.

I used to believe binge-watching was a negative and extreme habit before I got into it. I still think it possesses the ability to consume your life completely if you do not control it, but it’s not all bad.

Binge-watching is an incredible coping mechanism because it engrosses you in the best possible way. If you have free time and you don’t wish to spend it overthinking every wrong thing about your life, binge-watching is possibly one of the best solutions.

The issue here, however, arises with its health implications, which I have seen up-front. Staying awake till late hours bingeing or not doing anything but sitting and watching episode after episode can be pretty detrimental to our bodies. It can upset sleep cycles, and metabolic activity, and even lead to mental health problems as a consequence of the physical health disruptions.

It’s like they say — everything good needs to be consumed within limits because an excess of everything is bad. This applies to binge-watching too. The short-term gratification might be attractive because we get to finish an entire season of an excellent show in one day, but it might be worse than we think for our future selves.

After my last binge session with “Penthouse”, I realised that while it was fun and a great coping mechanism while being stuck in lockdown, it also negatively impacted my sleep cycle. I finished the first season in five days (21 episodes!) but I took my sweet time with the second season (13 episodes) and finished it in about a week.

The first season felt like a rollercoaster ride for me emotionally and physically. On the contrary, the second one, as intense as its predecessor was breezier and less exhausting to consume.

I guess you could say, I have found a balance in my binge-watching habits now. I still binge TV shows I enjoy, just not as aggressively or constantly. I limit myself to 2-3 episodes a day of even the most engrossing of dramas and I try not to watch the super suspenseful shows post-dinner.

Watching any kind of TV post-dinner is anyway a tricky road to tread upon. You’re either going to enjoy yourself before retiring to bed, or you’re going to find yourself awake at 5 am with raccoon eyes and 100 questions in your mind.

In my personal experience, it’s all fun and games until it fucks with your well-being. You should see what works best for your body and mind, and follow suit.

At the end of the day, those shows aren’t going anywhere anyway — until Netflix decides to pull them… (RIP Gossip Girl, I will love you forever).