EVENING ENTERTAINMENT
How bad is bingeing?
Watching three episodes of a TV series in one sitting doesn’t make you happier, according to a study conducted by the University of Fribourg under realistic conditions.
According to a media researcher, only a few of us binge-watch so excessively that it has a negative impact on our lives. | Image: Pexels
Binge-watching still divides the scientific community. “Sometimes it’s problematised, then it’s praised again”, says the media researcher Dominique Wirz. Her team at the University of Fribourg has now conducted a study about it under realistic conditions: Its 80 participants were allowed to choose a single series, then watch it at home, either three episodes at a time or just one each day.
Afterwards, they conducted a survey. Their conclusion was: watching several episodes in a single sitting is no more entertaining than just watching one. So why do we like binge-watching at all? “We often have a window of free time on an evening before we go to bed, and this can be filled easily with several episodes”, says Wirz. And another study has also shown that there is only a low risk of addiction. Only a few of us binge-watch so excessively that it has a negative impact on our lives.
