Does this sound familiar? One more episode before bedtime, and suddenly it’s 4am and you’ve just finished the entire new season of your current favourite show.
This is what’s known as binge watching. Watching several episodes of a TV show – or several movies – back-to-back has taken hold among TV viewers since the rise of Netflix. By making complete seasons available at the same time, the streaming giant has changed the game compared to traditional broadcast TV, in turn shaking up consumer habits.
But what if this behaviour wasn’t only because of an all-consuming passion for shows; what if it was also a response to events experienced during childhood? Such is the possibility raised by a new study conducted by researchers at the Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro and the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, Italy.
They interviewed 1,082 young people aged 18 to 25 and living in Italy, who completed a survey to assess childhood emotional abuse, vulnerable narcissism, emotional dysregulation and binge watching. The findings “suggest that higher levels of emotional abuse, narcissism, and dysregulation are associated with increased binge watching”, the researchers wrote.
According to their results, harmful behaviours adopted by an authority figure, such as devaluation, mockery, rejection or constant criticism, profoundly affect the mental and emotional health of children, with the stigma persisting into adulthood.
“Individuals with vulnerable narcissism typically possess a fragile sense of self-esteem, which makes them highly sensitive to perceived criticism or slights. They tend to react emotionally and feel vulnerable when their self-esteem is challenged, or when feelings of shame and inadequacy arise.”
They are also “prone to being hypersensitive to rejection and abandonment, often misinterpreting neutral or ambiguous cues as signs of rejection”, the researchers noted in their study.
‘Disengage from real-world problems’
To cope with these unmanageable emotions, the most vulnerable may turn to the small screen to take their minds off their own reality and suffering. This can be a kind of defence mechanism to escape their pain and temporarily escape their negative emotions, but also to improve their mood by watching a comedy, for example.
“Binge watching has increasingly been recognised as a form of escapism and emotional regulation. Individuals who struggle with intense emotional distress may use binge watching to disengage from their real-world problems by immersing themselves in fictional narratives,” the researchers highlighted.
“This form of media consumption allows them to temporarily avoid confronting painful emotions, creating a sense of emotional relief and control. Indeed, binge watching offers viewers the opportunity to engage in immersive entertainment and escapism, becoming deeply engrossed in the storylines and characters.”
The experts cautioned, however, that “excessive and uncontrolled binge watching can have adverse effects on both physical and mental wellbeing similarly to other technology-related problematic behaviours”.
As such, “striking a balance between enjoying the entertainment value of binge watching and practising healthy viewing habits is crucial for overall wellness”, they concluded.