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Have you ever felt guilty after binge-watching an entire season (or more) of some show in a single sitting? Well, other than for being sedentary for far too long, you don’t have to feel quite so guilty now. That’s because a new study claims that binge-watching TV may actually be good for you.
According to the study from the University of Georgia, binging on TV shows, or books, may improve memory, fuel imagination, and help people deal with times of stress. As the authors of the study state, “binge-watching or marathoning entertainment is not always a purely mindless and forgettable activity.”
“Humans are storytelling creatures,” said Joshua Baldwin, lead author of the study and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Georgia. “One of the functions of narratives is the ability to satisfy motivations for things like connecting with other people, feeling autonomous and confident, and even security and safety. Stories have characters that fulfill these roles, and we can satisfy those needs through them.”
Binge-watching may help viewers build mental worlds where stories continue even after finishing the series. And these tales may help them cope in times of stress.
Binge-watching may help make stories more memorable by helping viewers connect plot threads and come away with a bigger picture of the story. This is especially true for longer series, with lots of different plotlines and characters to follow.
The study suggests binge-watchers are more likely to think about stories they’ve finished than people who consume media more slowly.
The authors added that while “binge-watching has been perceived by some as a dysfunctional activity associated with mindless excess and overindulgence,” it is likely that is not always the case. They claim that some forms of consecutive media consumption may help people recover from daily stressors and improve retrospective imagination as people continue to think about, and sometimes even develop further, the characters and story after completing their binge-watching.
“People who have that habit of binge-watching shows often aren’t doing it passively but are actually actively thinking about it afterwards,” said Baldwin. “They’re very much wanting to engage with stories, even when they’re not around to watch shows.”
Baldwin added, “There’s a lot of debate over whether or not media is a good or bad thing, but it’s always nuanced argument. It always depends on the content itself, why people are watching it, the psychological background of the individual and the context.”