Binge-watching trough the viewers eyes:
defining the habit and perceived effects
Gabrielė Vildžiūnaitė Student ID: 12297119
University of Amsterdam, Graduate School of Communication Master’s Thesis
Master’s programme Communication Science: Entertainment Communication Supervisor: mw. dr. Susanne E. Baumgartner
Abstract
The present study examined binge-watching definition and perceived effects in a qualitative manner. This was done to gain a better understanding of binge-watching as a phenomenon and its’ possible effects from the viewers perspective. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data out of which two concept indicator models were developed. The main findings show that there are three binge-watching types that the viewers engage: one can be called entertainment that requires focus, another one is a background that can be done while multitasking and third one is escapism. All types of binge-watching can be defined by the excessive number of episodes or excessive time spent watching, easy access to a large amount of content and process being an individual activity. The potential perceived effects include cognitive and affective, behavioural and physical effects.
Introduction
In today's digital world, on-demand video streaming becomes increasingly popular. Well-known streaming platforms become not only distributors but also the producers and creators of the content. This allows them to adjust to the specific needs of the viewers (Jenner, 2016) and encourage binge-watching habits by creating serialized shows where full seasons can be accessed at once. It has been argued that binge-watching is becoming a default consumption mode (Flayelle, Maurage, & Billieux, 2017). However, not much is known in the academic world about its’ possible harmful or beneficial effects.
In the recent years, there are more researchers interested in this phenomenon, however, there is a lack of exploratory research (Flayelle, Maurage, Vögele, Karila & Billieux, 2019). The most popular research method investigating binge-watching is cross-sectional surveys, there have been very few experiments done (Walter, Murphy & Rosenthal, 2018; Erickson, Dal Cin & Byl, 2019) and even less exploratory qualitative research. There have been a few studies that used focus groups or individual interview to get more in-depth understanding about the phenomenon, however, they were looking mainly into the motivations of binge-watching (Flayelle, Maurage, & Billieux, 2017; Panda & Pandey, 2017). The current study will use qualitative methods to understand two main topics that are still not agreed upon in the academia: definition and perceived effects of binge-watching.
The first question of the research is how to define watching from a binge-watchers’ perspective. Some scholars define it as simple as people watching multiple episodes of a TV show back-to-back (Riddle., Peebles, Davis, Xu, & Schroeder, 2018), while others argue that it is not a sufficient definition. Merikivi, Bragge, Scornavacca & Verhagen (2019) consider autonomy and continuity to be the main conditions of binge-watching and not the number of episodes that were watched. Horeck, Jenner and Kendall (2018) argue that the key component is that the viewers can decide what and when to watch and add that only serialized
formats can be binge-watched. From these definitions we can say that the key components of binge-watching are the number of episodes watched, the continuity and autonomy but how does the viewer understand binge-watching? And which type of viewing behaviour makes them call themselves binge-watchers?
The second question in the study is related to the perception of the habit. Existing studies have shown that there are two main trends when it comes to the perception of binge-watching. One argues about the addictive nature of binge-watching (Riddle, Peebles, Davis, Xu, & Schroeder, 2018), anticipated regret, goal conflict (Walton-Pattison, Dombrowski & Presseau, 2018) or guilt (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2018) and portraits a negative sentiment towards binge-watching. Another claims that addictive disorder is of low relevance when it comes to watching because there is a difference between problematic binge-watching and healthy binge-binge-watching and the number of episodes watched has very little to do with it (Flayelle, Maurage, Karila, Vögele, & Billieux, 2019). Binge-watching is perceived as recreational, as long as it avoids goal conflict and feeling of guilt (Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018), highlights positive feelings, like enjoyment, ability to express fandom, feeling of efficiency (Shim & Kim, 2018), immediate gratification (Shim, Lim, Jung & Shin, 2018) and social connection (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2018). The conflicting opinions in academia raise a question: how do the viewers perceive the habit of binge-watching (positive or negative) and why?
In sum, the present study will examine two main aspects of binge watching from a viewer’s perspective, namely the definition and perceived effects of binge-watching. The research method for this study will be semi-structured individual interviews.
Theoretical background The binge-watching definition
So far there is no clear definition of binge-watching that scholars can agree on. The most basic and common definition is multiple episodes of the same show in one sitting (Flayelle, Maurage & Billieux, 2017; Walton-Pattison, Dombrowski & Presseau, 2018; Riddle, Peebles, Davis, Xu & Schroeder, 2018; Flayelle, Canale, Vögele, Karila, Maurage & Billieux, 2019). Some scholars extend the definition including several binge-watching sessions within a small period (Schweidel & Moe, 2016), others emphasize that binge-watching can happen only when the content is serialized and the viewer watches the show intensively (Jones, Cronin & Piacentini, 2018; Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018).
The problem with defining binge-watching is that the actions that identify the process as a binge can differ for each individual and then when the identification is the same, the amount of the action that can be described as a binge can be individual too (Shim, Lim, Jung & Shin, 2018). For example, one might say that binge-watching is when you watch multiple episodes in one sitting and have a different number in mind. While others might say that binge-watching is a total amount of time that you spend in front of a screen and have a different amount of time in mind. Vaterlaus, Spruance, Franz and Kruger (2018) have conducted a qualitative study with college students to understand better how they understand binge-watching. The results have shown that three main things define a binge-watching session for college students.
The first identifier is consecutiveness. The show has to be in a format that a person can continue watching after one episode is finished. It can be mentioned as consecutive episodes, watching the show back to back, multiple episodes of the same show or simply the continuity of the show. The second identifier is the number of episodes watched in one sitting. Some scholars just assume it’s more than one (Merikivi, Salovaara, Mäntymäki & Zhang, 2018)
episode of the same show. Others scholars claim it is two and more (Mikos, 2016; Boudali, Hamza, Halayem, Bouden & Belhadj, 2017) or three and more (Nielsen, 2013; Shim, Lim, Jung & Shin, 2018) episodes in one sitting. We can also find an example where the definition has a specific number amplitude. It can be an approximation of anything between two and six episodes (Flayelle, Maurage, Vögele, Karila & Billieux, 2019) or even anything between two episodes and the entire season of a TV show (Stamenković, Todorović, Jovic-Vranes, Terzic-Supic, Santric-Milicevic, Matejic & Nikolic, 2018). From these varying definitions, it becomes clear that it is hard to pinpoint how many episodes in a row will constitute the binge-watching session.
Another way of looking into how to define binge-watching is looking into time spent watching, not necessarily the number of episodes (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz, & Kruger, 2018). Serialized shows have different lengths, some might be one hour, others twenty minutes. So, if a person watches two or three episodes of a show that is twenty minutes that would be considered a binge, but the one-hour long episode will not be considered a binge? Panda and Pandey (2017) also claims that both number of episodes and time has to be taken into account. They define binge-watching as a minimum of 2-3 episodes or at least one hour of watching.
Some scholars are looking for more specific ways to define it. Shim and Kim (2018) points out the online streaming platforms as part of binge-watching definition. The online streaming platform provides the ability to watch content anywhere, anytime and makes the binging possible because you are not controlled by any schedule and have full seasons of series at your disposal. We also can see more and more discussions that autonomy, being able to choose the content, is an important factor for binge-watching and should be included in the definition (Jenner, 2016; Jenner 2017; Horeck, Jenner & Kendall, 2018; Shim & Kim, 2018).
Sung, Kang and Lee (2018) besides the number of episodes and the time spent watching mentions the frequency of binge-watching. A person might watch a lot of episodes of the same
show in one sitting only once or twice. Then it would not be considered as a binge, because it was a one-off event, probably because of a particular situation or event. But if you engage in excessive TV series watching regularly, those would be considered binge-watching sessions. Another idea from Dung, Kan and Lee (2018) is that the person should be engaged in the series to be able to call it binge-watching. A somewhat similar statement can be found in Rubenking and Bracken (2018) study. They claim that binge-watching behaviour is focused and deliberate viewing of a series. Another idea from the same study is that binge-watching can only happen with content that has a suspenseful narrative and drama features. This is closely related to their last argument that the story has to capture the viewer.
So far, it seems that the best definition would be that it is a session of watching multiple episodes (number and time can differ per person) of the serialized show having the autonomy to choose where when and what to watch. The aim of the present study is to find out what binge-watchers themselves think is the definition of binge-watching. This might help to define watching more accurately and we would be able apply that definition to all binge-watchers.
Effects of binge-watching
The majority of binge-watching studies have been correlational (Morgan, 2017; Walter, Murphy & Rosenthal, 2018; Groshek, Krongard & Zhang, 2018; Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018; Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2019), therefore it is hard to establish binge-watching effects. For this the establishment, cause and effect relationship is necessary. It would be extremely hard and probably unethical to experiment to see if binge-watching does cause health problems, depression or addiction. However, we can measure other effects like changes in attitudes. One experiment has shown that binge-watching can be a significant moderator for change in attitudes (Walter, Murphy & Rosenthal, 2018). People who binge-watched TV show
“East Los High” acquired a more negative attitude towards alcohol abuse and became more accepting of women’s decision to choose abortion. However, the results show that the identification with the main characters, during binge-watching has been reduced. It might have happened because the show was still portraying the characters with the same qualities that were positive towards alcohol abuse and the new changed attitudes were negative towards alcohol abuse. However, the authors believe that binge-watching might not be suitable for deeper psychological processes like parasocial relationships because the results show that people who watched a lot of episodes in a row didn’t pay as much attention to the content, thus the viewing experience became more superficial. In sum, binge-watching was linked to changes in attitude and decrease in identification with the main characters of the series.
Another experiment has compared binge-watching to appointment-viewed programs in terms of change in prejudice towards transgender people (Billard, 2019). It was found that both viewing styles has a potential to reduce the anti-transgender prejudice, however, the effect has lasted longer in the group that watched appointment-viewed program. Another interesting finding was regarding parasocial relationships. The relationship with the main character did not predict the level of prejudice reduction which suggests that parasocial relationships formed during binge-watching do not influence the magnitude of the effects of binge-watching. In this case, the strength of parasocial relationship did not influence how much the prejudice have reduced, thus if a person forms really strong parasocial relationship, it doesn’t necesarely mean that the effect of change in prejudice will be also strong. Another experiment also comparing binge-watching and appointment-viewing styles (Erickson, Dal Cin & Byl, 2019) has found that binge-watching predicted stronger parasocial relationships as well as increased transportation. This study suggests that in the adult population binge-watching increases the engagement into the narrative trough parasocial relationships. It appears that binge-watching has the potential to change the attitudes of the viewers but so does the traditional one-per-week
episode viewing. It also can strengthen parasocial relationships, but it seems that they can have some influence only on the engagement to the show but not on the magnitude of the effects on attitude change.
Another way to look into binge-watching effects is to look into perceived self-reported effects of watching. Morgan (2017) has found a small correlation between binge-watchers goal career and their favourite characters job. This would suggest that parasocial relationships with series characters might have an effect on real-life choices like a career. From a previous experiment (Erickson, Dal Cin & Byl, 2019), we know that binge-watching might strengthen parasocial relationships and if the parasocial relationships might have an influence on our real-life choices like a career, it seems that parasocial relationships might be a mediator and suggest an indirect binge-watching effect on real-life choices like a career. However, the effect size that was found in Morgan’s (2017) study was small and it requires more research for us to be able to make these assumptions.
Other perceived effects of binge-watching are mostly related to health and well-being. There are some positive and some negative perceived effect of binge-watching. Some of the positive effects include gratification of needs (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2019), increased media enjoyment and well-being trough perceived autonomy (Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018). The negative perceived effect can be stress, social isolation, lower academic achievement (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2019), and feelings of guilt (Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018). However, Granow, Reinecke and Ziegele (2018) point out that the source of negative media effects is goal conflict. It happens when we choose binge-watching instead of some other task and that results in mentioned negative effects. Self-control in binge-watching is a significant moderator of the positive effect on well-being therefore as long as the goal conflict can be avoided, the binge-watchers can experience positive effects on well-being. Another study (Groshek, Krongard, & Zhang, 2018) has found that the amount of
binge-watching is not necessarily correlated to the magnitude of the effect on well-being. Very light and very heavy binge-watchers reported relatively similar high academic performance, while moderate binge-watchers reported significantly lower academic performance. Overall, the current literature suggests that binge-watching can have effects on the viewers. However, less is known about whether these effects are also perceived by viewers themselves. Therefore, one aim of this study is to investigate the perceived effects of binge-watching by viewers, focusing not only on the effects already mentioned in previous literature but also trying to discover new ones.
Method
Design
The research design selected for this study is individual semi-structured interviews because binge-watching is a topic that has not been researched a lot and the current research questions are exploratory. It aims to explore the possible answers for three main topics about the definition of binge-watching and perceived effects. Looking for new insights requires in-depth answers; thus, this study requires a qualitative research design. Since the possible answers in question are related to perceptions, feelings that are more personal and unique experiences, therefore the one-on-one conversation was required. In general, individual interviews are chosen to collect detailed thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about a given phenomenon (Loiselle et al. 2007), thus, it was a good fit for this study.
Procedure
The participants were contacted through social circles and online social groups connected to the topic. In the invitation, it was stated, that the study is looking for self-proclaimed binge-watchers (see Appendix A). When the potential participants responded to an online ad and
agreed to participate in the study, an official invitation was sent to their e-mail address explaining the research in more detail (see Appendix B). All of the interviews were done in person. The participants agreed on a convenient time and location. Some of the interviews were done in University of Amsterdam facilities others at selected cafes and restaurants or in the interviewee’s home. First, the participants got an informed consent form to sign (see Appendix C). Then, the conversations were recorded and side notes were made by the interviewer. The interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes. The collection of the data stopped when it reached saturation after 10 in-depth interviews.
When all the data was collected, the transcriptions of the interviews were made. Then, the transcripts were uploaded in the Atlas.ti program for further analysis. The analysis had two stages: the first one was open coding. It required going through every line of the transcript and assigning labels that resonate with the main questions. The second stage was clustering. The labels were clustered by the two main topics; definition and perceived effects. Out of these clusters, two concept indicator models were made that will be explained in detail in the results section.
Sample
The participants (N=10) in this study had to have a specific characteristic – the habit of binge-watching and more importantly, consider themselves as “binge-watchers”, therefore, the study used purposive sampling. To ensure rich data in the sample there was no limitation for age while recruiting the participants. The age ranged from 21 years old to 49 years old. The average age of participants is approximately 30 years old; it was not possible to calculate the exact average age because one of the participants indicated their age as “late 20s’”. There were 60% female and 40% male participants. The participants were from different cultural backgrounds, including Dutch, Greek, Swiss, Russian, Romanian, Singaporean, Turkish and Hungarian,
however, all of the interviews were conducted in English. The sample included participants with very diverse occupations, including a student, a working student, a barista, part-time workers and people working full-time in customer service, IT sales, economical sector, UX design and biochemistry (see Appendix E).
Measures - the interview guide
The interview guide (see Appendix D) was used for the semi-structured interviews. It consists of two main topics; binge-watching definition and perceived effects of binge-watching. The interview starts with a background check, asking the interviewees to tell a bit about themselves. Then the two main topics are introduced. The first topic helps to understand the binge-watching phenomenon from a viewers’ perspective. The main question of the topic is “Why do you consider yourself a watcher?”. The other sub-questions tried to answer what does binge-watching mean to them. Is it a number of episodes they watch, the amount of time spent doing it and how does their binge-watching routine look like? The second topic was trying to find out if the binge-watching habit affects the viewers. The main question was: “In what way have binge-watching influenced you in real life?”. The sub-questions enquired if it is a good or bad influence. The interview was finished with a closing question: “Is there anything else, that you think is important about binge-watching that we haven’t discussed yet?”.
Reliability and validity
Some techniques were used to assure the reliability of this research. First, during the interviews the interviewer was taking notes – memos that later on was added as additional data to analyse. The memos were used during transcription and data analysis to verify if the information was understood correctly and to add additional information that was not directly said by the interviewee, like notes of hesitation, confusion or contradiction. This provided a better
understanding of the binge-watchers’ opinions, especially if they were not aware of it themselves at the time of the speaking. Another technique to enhance reliability in this study was using Atlas.ti – a computer program that helps to analyse the qualitative data. It was used for open coding, clustering and forming concept indicator models.
The validity or in qualitative research, credibility is another important factor. It means that data collection should resemble a real-life situation as closely as possible. To enhance credibility, the techniques of thick description and member checking was used. The thick description is describing the phenomenon you are studying in great detail to the participants. Binge-watching was described using current literature in a way that a person with no pre-existing knowledge of the topic could have a clear understanding of it. Member checking is a process when the participants are shown the findings of the study and they can provide feedback about it. Maybe something was misunderstood or they would like to add more information, thus the transcripts were sent to the participants to check if everything was understood correctly.
Results
The binge-watching definition
During data analysis, three dimensions have emerged in the binge-watching definition. It is possible to define binge-watching by the motive of the viewer, describe binge-watching as a process and describe characteristics of a binge-watcher as a viewer (See figure 1).
First of all, describing binge-watching in general, it seems that there are three motives to binge-watch that defines the process. First one is where the viewer is really engaged in the series and the content is the main reason for binge-watching. It can be described as a hobby, seeking meaningful entertainment. Kim said “I'm a storyteller and I really, really like watching plots”. Another example can be what Tom has said “I just really like stories. I just like hearing
captivating ideas and stories”. This type of binge-watching is usually related to “heavy”, complex, captivating content, however, most of the participants thought that good, binge-wordy content is not common, “…heavy content like Chernobyl, and I always hope that there is more content like that because… it was so good, why don't they have more of these?” said Kim. Second kind of binge-watching motive is to use it as a background. It is usually “lighter” content, something that is easy to follow. Anna describes this kind of binge-watching like that: “Usually after work, you just want to relax and then it’s like an easy watch. If you have to think about it, it's too much effort after work, I'm tired. And I like doing different stuff while I'm watching Netflix, so, I would be folding laundry or whatever and watch comedy or cartoons. I don't have to pay
Figure 1. Concept indicator model for binge-watching definition.
attention, be there all the time to get the story.” An important factor in this kind of binge- watching is that the viewer is usually multitasking while doing it because it does not require a lot of attention. Alan said that “while you're eating you need to watch something”, Kim said
Definition
Motive
Entertainment Background Escapism
Process
Number of episiodes
Time
spent Frequency Continuity Platform Content Alone vs. social Binge-watcher
“I want some background noise when I'm working when I'm studying”, Maria said, “I watch when I eat, I watch when I draw when I work”.
The third motive for binge-watching is escapism. It can be related to viewers trying to escape their problems in real life, for example, Lotte said “when I had a divorce… I'm a bit embarrassed to say but from Friday afternoon till Sunday night in my apartment completely closed off in my bedroom. It was kind of escapism for me”. The viewer can also use binge-watching to procrastinate, delay their chores or other responsibilities. Tom said, “sometimes I would binge-watch things for procrastination purposes when I know that I should be doing something else”. Escapism can also be used for mood regulation. Adonis said “if I'm really sad or lonely or going through heartbreak”. However, the escapism does not seem to help the viewers’ because like Alan said: “it doesn't help actually, you just delaying your problems”. On the other hand, escapism can have a positive effect. Adonis thinks that binge-watching “does have a therapeutic side because you get really forgotten in a different world… It's really good because you have your own space, save space, there's no judgement, you don't talk, you just an observer. It's a good thing”.
Apart from the motives that define the binge-watching process, binge-watching can be described as a process. The first indicator is the number of episodes watched in a row. It seems to be an important part of the binge-watching definition but the actual number varies among the viewers. For example, for Adrian binge-watching is “from the moment that I watch first three episodes consequently one after the other”. Others can describe binge-watching as watching not episodes but seasons in a matter of days, like Diana “can start the series and just go through it in 2 days or 3 days” or Kim said “for example, Game of Thrones, I think I finished it in 3 days until season 8… I just never stopped watching until I caught up with him”.
Another indicator is the time spent watching. Understanding how much time spent watching constitutes binge-watching is different among viewers. For Laura, “it would definitely
be that is a longer period when I watch something for more than an hour”, while for Kim it’s around “5 hours watching” or for Adonis it’s “8 hours” that constitutes a binge. Time spent watching can be even more accurate defining binge-watching than a number of episodes because of the different length of episodes. Anna said “I think it's how long in one sitting. I mean if it's short episodes, 3 can be ok but if it's longer ones than no”.
Frequency is another indicator of binge-watching. Maria said “I think it's also how often do you do that. If you watch something about 5 hours once a year so it's not really the same as doing it regularly, right?” Like with other indicators it can vary for different viewers. Anna, like most of the interviewees, binge-watches almost every day, she said: “every evening if I don't have plans”. Some said that they do it more than once in a day, like Kim “on a train to work until I arrive, at work and then, when I leave work, I would still watch”. However, not all viewers binge-watch so frequently, Laura binge-watches “let's say once a month…Or maybe twice a month”, Adrian “maybe two series a year”.
Continuity is another indicator of binge-watching process. Maria said “I watch the shows because I don't really like watching movies, I don't know, it's just because two hours and then it's over… and series, it just keeps going and going.” Continuity means that the viewer commits to one series at the time like Adonis said “if it's a different one I can’t because I have to focus on this one” or Adrian said, “I really need to commit to the series and I really need to commit to the story”. However, there are some viewers that are okay with a non-continuous story. Alan said that “another series… It's coming once a week, so, you have to wait 1 week and is totally fine with me. Actually, it's better that way because I'm building up myself to watch it”.
Another feature describing binge-watching process can be the platform used for watching. All of the viewers use one or more online streaming platforms or/and downloading to get the content for binge-watching. Most binge-watchers consider the platform to be easy
access to the content and without it they would probably not binge-watch or do it less. Adonis said “when you were presented with the option of the whole season, I will do the whole season…”. However, besides know online streaming platforms like Netflix, HBO, Hulu, viewers mention YouTube as a platform for binge-watching. Tom said, “Netflix is the main medium I use but I also download and also, I spent quite a lot of time on YouTube, watching videos”. Maria thinks online streaming platform is not a necessity for binge watching because it can be done watching TV as well: “when I think about it, because…I don't think I watched TV in many years but I think they can also do marathons of shows”. This shows that online streaming platform is not a necessity for binge-watching process. The important factor is easy access to the large amount of content and nowadays that can be done in various other ways.
Content is also an important feature when it comes to watching. For some binge-watchers, the content has to be high quality and suspenseful. Adonis stressed the importance of good content “I don’t have it that every time I finish something, I will find something else immediately, I wait till I find something else good…”. Adrian describes the binge-watchable content “it slowly develops and they try to connect everything later on and then they can leave you hanging waiting for next season”. Specific content can also be like a ritual, tradition, something comforting and familiar. Diana said “Grey’s Anatomy, I've been watching it since it started and I watch it every Sunday morning with coffee, it's like a ritual”, Maria re-watches the same content because “some content is just comforting, some are more like a tradition”.
The last important thing to discussing binge-watching description is if it’s a process viewer do alone or with other people. It seems that most viewers binge-watch alone because it requires focus and they don’t like to be disturbed, it’s private time. Lotte binge-watch “mostly alone…because it's like, more me time”. It can also be that when you binge-watch with others it becomes more of social activity. Laura said, “when I'm usually with friends, even if binge-watch then after like a couple of hours we just stop and then we start talking”. Another reason
why it is easier to binge-watch alone is different interests like Kim said, “Me and my friends, we have different interests, so, it's almost never happens, watching with my friends”.
Binge-watcher as a viewer is another sub concept in the definition of binge-watching. The first indicator is the need to watch. Laura described a crave for binge-watching: “I seek, I really look for the time to watch something because I find it relaxing…this is what I need and I can’t relax in other ways”. Another indicator is control. Both, having control over binge-watching or not having control over binge-binge-watching can be a feature of a binge watcher but it seems to be important when describing binge-watching. Alan thinks he is a binge-watcher because “I feel like I cannot stop… I don't have control”, however Diana thinks that “It's not like we are puppets, we have control over our live and how much movies we see”. Some viewers use planning as a way to gain control over binge-watching. Adonis said, “I plan, I make like a decision on a daily basis not during the weekend, it is different on weekend” talking about deciding when to spend time for excessive series watching so it does not affect work or social life. Priority to watching over other activities can also be a characteristic of a binge-watcher. It does not mean that the viewer will not do anything else, but they will prioritize it in some cases like Maria said “sometimes I think I'm at the point of my life where I can confess to myself that certain show is more interesting than some boring person that I have nothing in common with”. The priority can also be over other entertainment forms like Maria thinks that “a good quality show, it that can be better than books”. When asked about what identifies a binge-watcher, the most common answer was how much time a viewer spends for this activity. For example, Anna, when asked why she considers herself a binge-watcher replied: “because I do watch a lot at once”, other viewers like Adrian said they are binge-watchers because “it usually takes most of my time even my free time and my personal time”.
Perceived binge-watching effects
During data analysis, three main dimensions of perceived binge-watching effects have emerged: cognitive and affective effects, behavioural effects and physical effects (see Figure 2).
First, I would like to discuss cognitive and affective perceived effects. The most common effect of binge-watching is feelings. It can be both good feelings like Anna said “if it's a really happy uplifting show then you feel happy and uplifted” and bad feelings, like Diana said, “you feel sad or you know, they bring a burden to you if it's like a drama or very complex series”. These feeling are related to the content, the story and characters of the series. Other feelings can emerge from the actual process of binge-watching. One of the most prevailing negative feelings is a feeling of guilt. It is usually related to wasting time and not being productive. Lotte said, “I always feel guilty because I feel like I should be more productive”. For Adonis, the process of binge-watching can also bring positive feelings, like “a feeling of satisfaction”.
Figure 2. Concept indicator model for perceived effects
Effects
Cognitive and affective
Feelings Perception and
values Thoughts and interests Abilities
Behavioural
Imitating Purchasing Social
Physical
Another indicator of cognitive effects is change in perception and values. It can be change in perception towards other people, self-reflection, perception about other cultures etc. Laura said “there's this perception change when you watch it… For example, different cultures. I get to understand them better from series, I can relate to them more”. Maria talked about the influence on moral values: it “influences my moral values because…I really get influenced by the animation because, you know, there is always like good and evil going on, so, like you have to be brave, you have to speak up for yourself, you have to be good”. The change in perception and values can also be understood as an inspiration. It is usually related to the characters, their characteristics or the events that follow in the series. Laura said, “some characters inspired me…For example, what kind of woman I want to be in the future”.
Another similar cognitive effect is provoked thoughts and interests. It refers to new thoughts about the world, society, self-reflection, new interest in a topic. For example, Diana said that series “makes you think about utopia or the end of the world or what would happen if the giant asteroid going to come” describing provoked thoughts. Tom acquired a new interest due to binge-watching: ‘Made me more interested in these concepts, these ideas and actually let me have more interest in philosophy and actually I started reading about philosophy”.
The last perceived cognitive effect of binge-watching is certain abilities. It can be cognitive abilities like creativity or learning languages. On one hand, binge-watching is perceived to diminish creativity. Alan said “I feel like I used to be more creative. I'm just getting the message from the computer a lot, so, everything I do, derives from this”. On the other hand, Adrian said that binge-watching, “it makes me more creative; you know? I try to find more creative ways into saying… into telling a story”. Watching a lot of series can also be related to learning a language. Lotte said: “I also like to learn, these series, it’s good for my Spanish as well. Tom said, “I guess in a funny way watching Narcos improved my Spanish”.
The second dimension of perceived binge-watching effects is change in behaviour. The first indicator is imitating the series or the characters. The viewer can imitate the general mood of the series, like Adrian said “I try to replicate the feeling of a series into pictures that I take into videos that I make, it's really affecting”. Another example can be imitating fashion from the series like Lotte said “I got really inspired by the fashion and I wanted to design dresses like that, like, you know, the dresses in that period” or imitate the actions of the characters like Adonis said, “If I see that, like the main character go to the dance classes, I might go to dance classes”.
One more effect can be purchasing behaviour. The series can influence the viewers to buy certain items seen in the series. Adonis has purchased an iPhone based on a series: “I saw them using my phone and then was like, oh my god, I need an iPhone as well, definitely, the show affected me”, Adrian said that he would purchase a yellow raincoat because of the idea in the series called Dark.
Another indicator of behaviour effect is social behaviour. It mostly includes talking about the series with friends and family, debates, exchanging pictures, quotes or jokes. Kim said ” that series I quote a lot and pretty much people that know about it, we can just quote and have fun and laugh”, similarly Tom said ”Me and my friends watch the Office, we always, always make “that's what she said” joke and that sort of jokes”.
The last dimension for perceived effects is physical effects. They are usually negative effects like sleep deprivation, tiredness, red eyes or even diminished eyesight. Adrian blames binge-watching for lack of sleep: “what comes with binge-watching, which means sleep deprivation, sleep disorders or bad eating habits…”, Kim thinks that binge-watching might have influenced her eye-sight: “I think I feel tired in the way that also my eyesight has gone bad a bit. I think there's a bit of a change in my eyesight. But I don't know if it's my profession
or if it's binge-watching”. Adonis asked about how binge-watching make him feel said: “I feel tired, really tired”.
Binge-watchers think that the fact that they are affected by the series is directly related to the binge-watching process not necessarily to the content. Tom said, if “you just watch one episode for an hour and then you move on to something else, I don't think you build a connection with that as much, so, you need that continuing to build the effect” However, it is important to point out the size of these perceived effects. Some of the binge-watchers think that there is no real-life effect in general, Diana said: “I don't let it affect me”. Some think that there is an effect but not life-changing, small effect, for example, Kim said, “I don't think it has too much effect on me”. Some viewers think that it really depends on the individual like Diana said “it depends also on the type of person you are. So, depends on how empathetic you are” In general it seems that binge-watching does not affect the viewers' life that much, none of the interviewees said that it affects their life a lot. However, Laura points out that “I think it happens unconsciously most of the time” and some people might not be aware of the effects.
Conclusion & Discussion Definition of binge-watching
The study results are in line with previous literature (Flayelle, Maurage, & Billieux, 2017) defining binge-watching in general as a default consumption mode. However, the results indicate that there can be three very different motives that define binge-watching. The first one is when the binge-watching is a hobby and the viewer is seeking entertainment with quality content, captive stories and characters to relate to. Another default consumption mode is when binge-watching is used as a background, usually while multitasking. The viewer then can watch content that is not complicated and easy to follow or even re-watch already seen content. Binge-watching can also be defined as escapism, which is also in line with previous research (Jones,
Cronin & Piacentini, 2018). However, Jones, Cronin and Piacentini (2018) described binge-watching as a world enriching escapism but the current study shows that on one hand, it can be a way to fantasize and get away from your problems for a while, relax, on the other hand, it can become a way to detach from reality and lead to not solving real-life problems at all.
When defining the process of watching the study has shown that the binge-watchers has the similar ideas that were already discussed in previous research. The most common definition is by number of episodes (Flayelle, Maurage & Billieux, 2017; Walton-Pattison, Dombrowski & Presseau, 2018; Riddle, Peebles, Davis, Xu & Schroeder, 2018; Vaterlaus, Spruance, Franz and Kruger, 2018; Flayelle, Canale, Vögele, Karila, Maurage & Billieux, 2019). However, like Shim, Lin, Jung and Shin (2018) have claimed, it is a very individual thing. Some viewers think 3 to 4 episodes already constitutes a binge while others consider it to be a binge session only when they watch an entire season. However, the results from the current study show that the specific number of episodes is not a good indication for binge-watching. Even though binge-watchers themselves thought that the number can identify the binge-watching process, the differences between the provided number of episodes that constitute a binge varies too much among the viewers. The definition might be more applicable if it was more wage in this part. For example, watching “excessive number of episodes”. It would refer to “excessive number” as what is excessive to the specific viewer.
Other identifications of binge-watching were also in line with previous studies. The time spent watching (Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz, & Kruger, 2018) is an important indicator because of the length of the episodes. Watching two or three 20-minute episodes of series might not be considered binge-watching but if the episodes are 40 to 60 minutes, the session can be considered binge-watching. This is similar to the number of the episodes, thus has the same problem that we can’t actually define the specific time frame that constitutes the binge-watching due to large variation among the viewers. It could appear in the definition as
“watching excessive amount of time” because it would refer “excessive amount of time” to what is excessive for a specific viewer.
The frequency (Sung, Kang & Lee; 2018) according to the current literature, defines if it’s a true habit and can be considered binge-watching of if it’s a one-time thing. However, the results show that some watchers binge rarely but still consider themselves binge-watchers, thus frequency define only some types of binge-watching. It seems to apply mostly to the binge-watching type background but not to others. I
The continuity (Jones, Cronin & Piacentini, 2018; Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018; Vaterlaus, Spruance, Franz and Kruger; 2018) is a fixation to a single story that can be followed and strengthens the wish to watch one episode after another. It was mentioned by most of the interviewees; however, the binge-watchers also consider watching YouTube videos or TV as a binge-watching process. Some of the series that have a new story and characters every episode can also be watched thus continuity does not apply to all cases of binge-watching. It applies to certain motive – entertainment.
Access to the content can also be a relevant part of definition. The binge-watchers admitted that if the content was not so easily accessible, they would probably watch less. It is not necessarily connected to the online streaming platform like Shim and Kim (2018) have thought, but to the volume of the episodes available on the spot so that the binge-watching process could happen. The results show that this should be a part of binge-watching definition because it applies to all of the binge-watching types. In the definition model the platform is understood as easy access to the content.
Some of the results are contradicting or adding to the previous research. Dung, Kan and Lee (2018) claimed that the viewer should be engaged in watching series for it to be binge-watching. Contradictory, the interviewees think that the process of watching multiple episodes while multitasking and not paying all of their attention to the content is also considered
binge-watching. Rubenking and Bracken (2018) claimed that binge-watchable content must be suspenseful and have drama features but the binge-watchers said that sometimes they are too tired to watch complicated content, thus watches light content when they want to relax. The current study show that these two claims do not apply to all types of binge-watching and was not included in the definition model. Another component of binge-watching definition that was discovered in the study but not mentioned in the previous literature is that binge-watching is a process that people prefer to do alone. It is considered “me time” while watching a series with other people can be disrupting the process and become a social interaction instead of binge-watching.
In sum, the study results show that binge-watching can be a form of entertainment, a background or a tool for escapism. Because of these different motives the process can be very different and thus it is very hard to provide one definition for all binge-watching types. There are only few characteristics that define all types of binge-watching. All of them can be defined by excessive number of episodes or excessive amount of time spent watching, easy access to large amount of content on the spot and it is usually a personal activity. Binge-watching as entertainment can be additionally described by continuity and content. This type of binge-watching is related to focused viewing of one storyline, good quality content that is usually suspenseful. The viewers seek specific content that gratifies their specific needs and admire the content for the story line, characters or cinematography. The Background type can additionally be defined by frequency and specific content. It is usually an everyday activity that happens while multitasking. The content is light and does not require a lot of attention.
The study results also summarise possible binge-watcher specific characteristics. First of all, binge-watcher is someone who devotes a lot of time to watch series. Second, there is a strong need to watch. The viewer intentionally seeks to find time to binge-watch. Third is lack of control. A common binge-watcher can say “just one more, just one more” while not being
able to go to sleep on time or miss out doing chores or other responsibilities. However, some binge-watchers use planning to gain control over binge-watching. It means that some of the viewers plan time to watch to extreme lengths. Usually on weekends or vacations so that it does not affect their responsibilities but they can still indulge in a “guilty pleasure” and not lose the control. Fourth, a binge-watcher might give priority to binge-watching over other activities like working out, reading a book or socializing.
Perceived binge-watching effects
In line with other research (Granow, Reinecke & Ziegele, 2018, Walter, Murphy & Rosenthal, 2018; Billard, 2019; Vaterlaus, Spruance, Frantz & Kruger, 2019) this study has found that the most prevailing cognitive and affective effects are change in feelings, values and perception. The feelings can be positive, like satisfaction, security, relaxation and happiness. It can also be negative feelings, like a feeling of guilt or sadness. The perception of the viewer can change about society, other people, themselves, other cultures or life in general. Some binge-watcher said that the good and evil fight that is almost always present in series can also shape moral values. The current study extends the knowledge about the possible cognitive effects of binge-watching by adding effects like change in thoughts and interests and change in abilities. Firstly, the series can evoke certain thoughts about social or ethical issues and new interest. For example, interest in philosophy or history. Secondly, binge-watching series can change the viewers' abilities like creativity, language and general knowledge about a certain subject. The results suggest that there are more cognitive effects of binge-watching than discussed in previous literature, thus future research should examine it in further.
The study found some possible behavioural effects as well. In line with the results of the study conducted by Morgan (2017), the first effect is imitating. The binge-watcher can imitate their favourite characters or a general style and emotion of the series. Another possible
effect is purchasing behaviour. The viewer can be influenced to buy certain items that were seen in the series like an iPhone or clothing. Binge-watching also can have a social behaviour effect. Binge-watchers tend to include the series in their discussions, use the content for jokes and quote favourite series in social situations. The current study extends the knowledge of possible binge-watching behavioural effect. Future research should examine binge-watching effects on purchasing and social behaviour to better understand the phenomenon.
Another type of effects is possible physical binge-watching effects. It includes sleep deprivation that can happen when binge-watchers continue watching till late or throughout the night. The effect following that can be tiredness. The last possible physical effect that emerged in the study is bad eye-sight. Binge-watchers claim to have red eyes after a long binge session and in general feel that the eye-sight has gone worse. The previous literature often talks about possible health implications of binge-watching (Rubenking & Bracken, 2018), however, the current study expands the knowledge about possible physical effects by adding sleep deprivation, tiredness and possible eye-sight deterioration.
In sum, the results show that binge-watching can have cognitive and affective, behavioural and physical effects on the viewer. Future research should investigate new insights from the current study. For example, the binge-watching effect on viewers thoughts and interest, cognitive abilities, change in purchasing and social behaviour or possible tiredness, sleep deprivation and eye-sight deterioration.
Nonetheless, binge-watchers think that the impact of binge-watching on their real-life is either non-existent or very modest. Some claim that they don’t allow binge-watching to affect their life at all. Others say that the effect stays mostly in their heads as thoughts and rarely influence behaviour or important life-changing decisions. Another idea is that the effects depend on individuals’ character. For example, more empathetic viewers are affected to a larger extent than not empathetic viewers.
Like in all research, the current study has some limitations. Qualitative research is an in-depth study about a phenomenon focused on a small sample, thus it can’t be extended to a wider population (Atieno, 2009). Future research should study this topic with a bigger sample in quantitative research. Other limitations include age and nationality diversity. Even though the age of the participants was from 21 years to 49 years old, most of the interviewees were in their late twenties or early thirties. The sample did not include kids and teenagers and that could significantly influence the results. The sample included eight different nationalities, however, most of them were from Europe. Future research should include different age groups and more nationalities from non-European countries.
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Appendix A – Recruiting message Looking for binge-watchers!
For a Master’s thesis, I am looking for people that loves to watch a lot of series and can call themselves binge-watchers. Is that you? Then I would like to invite you to an interview to talk about your binge-watching habit.
The interview will take around 45-60 minutes and the time and location can be adjusted to your convenience.
If you are suitable for this study and have an interest, please contact me!
Appendix B – Invitation letter Dear,
With this letter, I would like to invite you to participate in a research study to be conducted under the auspices of the Graduate School of Communication, a part of the University of Amsterdam.
The title of the study for which I am requesting your cooperation is ‘Binge-watching trough the viewers eyes: defining the habit and perceived effects’. In the individual interview you will be asked series of questions regarding binge-watching habit. There will be two main topics about the definition of binge-watching and perceived effects. Only people who identify as a binge-watchers will be participating in the study. The goal of this research is to generate insight about binge-watching looking from a viewer’s perspective.
The interview will take about 45-60 minutes.
As this research is being carried out under the responsibility of the ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, we can guarantee that:
1. 1) Your anonymity will be safeguarded, and that your personal information will not be passed on to third parties under any conditions, unless you first give your express permission for this.
2. 2) You can refuse to participate in the research or cut short your participation without having to give a reason for doing so. You also have up to 24 hours after participating to withdraw your permission to allow your answers or data to be used in the research. 3. 3) Participating in the research will not entail your being subjected to any appreciable risk or discomfort, the researchers will not deliberately mislead you, and you will not be exposed to any explicitly offensive material.
4. 4) No later than five months after the conclusion of the research, we will be able to provide you with a research report that explains the general results of the research. For more information about the research and the invitation to participate, you are welcome to contact Gabrielė Vildžiūnaitė at any time.
Should you have any complaints or comments about the course of the research and the
procedures it involves as a consequence of your participation in this research, you can contact the designated member of the Ethics Committee representing ASCoR, at the following
address: ASCoR Secretariat, Ethics Committee, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15793, 1001 NG Amsterdam; 020‐525 3680; ascor‐secr‐fmg@uva.nl.
Any complaints or comments will be treated in the strictest confidence.
We hope that we have provided you with sufficient information. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you in advance for your assistance with this research, which we greatly appreciate.
Appendix C – Informed consent Informed consent
I hereby declare that I have been informed in a clear manner about the nature and method of the research, as described in the email invitation for this study.
I agree, fully and voluntarily, to participate in this research study. With this, I retain the right to withdraw my consent, without having to give a reason for doing so. I am aware that I may halt my participation in the experiment at any time.
If my research results are used in scientific publications or are made public in another way, this will be done such a way that my anonymity is completely safeguarded. My personal data will not be passed on to third parties without my express permission.
If I wish to receive more information about the research, either now or in future, I can contact Gabrielė Vildžiūnaitė. Should I have any complaints about this research, I can contact the designated member of the Ethics Committee representing the ASCoR, at the following address: ASCoR secretariat, Ethics Committee, University of Amsterdam, Postbus 15793, 1001 NG Amsterdam; 020‐ 525 3680; ascor‐secr‐fmg@uva.nl.
I understand the text presented above, and I agree to participate in the research study: Yes No Name: Date: Signature:
Appendix D – Interview guide Introduction
• Goal: learn more about perception of binge-watching from the viewers perception
• Recording: the interviews were recorded for the purpose of the study
• Informed consent: the interviewees signed a consent form before the start of the interview
• Background check: I would like to start the conversation asking a bit about you and your leisure time
(education, age, working status, hobbies, how a normal day look like in your life?)
Topic 1: Defining binge-watching • Goal: To find out how
binge-watching is perceived from the viewers perspective.
Initial question: Why do you consider yourself a binge-watcher? (what does it mean to you, how many episodes you watch back-to back and how often) • What is binge-watching in general in your opinion? Do you think it can be different for different people? • What place binge-watching has in your daily schedule? (priority to other things or no?)
• How often do you binge-watch? Are there specific times when you binge watch more often than other times?
• What platforms do you usually use for binge-watching content? • What content do you usually binge-watch? • How does your binge-watching look like? Do you plan the sessions or is it more spontaneous? Do you usually do it alone or with company etc.?
Topic 2: Perceived effects
• Goal: To find out if there are any perceived effects of binge watching
Initial question: Is there any way that binge-watching has affected you in real life?
• Looking back to the tv shows you used to binge-watch before, were there anything that might have influenced your real-life decisions and choices?
• (Is there a particular show you have in mind?) • (What was the strongest influence there? The characters, the topics etc.?) • What are the shows you binge-watch more than once? Why are they special?
• Do you ever feel that you can relate to some of the characters in the show you are binge watching? How does it make you feel? • How do you feel when the show ends? • Do you find yourself waiting for a new season of some show? How does that make you feel? • How often in your everyday life do you think about the characters, or talk about them, or quote the show? • To summarize, do you think binge-watching has an effect of persons real life? Is it more positive or negative effects? Question about distinction shows and binge watched, what did they liked more
Rounding up the interview
• Is there anything else you could tell about your binge-watching habits or your thoughts about the phenomenon in general?
Appendix E – List of participants
1. Adrian, Greek, male, 30 years old, barista. 2. Tom, Swiss, male, 33 years, software sales. 3. Anna, Dutch, female, 23 years, microbiologist,
4. Laura, Hungarian, female, 27 years, psychology student.
5. Maria, Russian, female, 25 years, cultural center worker (part-time). 6. Diana, Romanian, female, 34 years, finance sector.
7. Lotte, Dutch, female, 49 years, working with expats (part-time), has two teenage kids. 8. Kim, Singaporean, female, late 20 s’, UX designer.
9. Alan, Turkish, male, 21 years, physics student.
10. Adonis, Greek, male, 28 years, senior position in customer service.
Disclaimer: the names of the participants in this list have been changed due to privacy issues.
