Lost in the Babble

The lockdown found Monica Fernandes turning into a couch potato with binge watching of all sorts of television and social media content. Here is her account.

- Monica Fernandes

Binge viewing is when a person watches more than one episode of a television series, sometimes the entire series, broadcast on any streaming platform such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. in just a single sitting. The plot of the serial thickens and entices the individual to keep on watching. This of course is lucrative business for the producers who can claim to have attentive audience and thereby attract more companies to advertise. It’s a simple formula: as the viewership increases, there is more money to be made from the commercials. Psychologists have opined that binge watching may seem like harmless fun but it could make the viewer depressed and miserable.

It is no doubt addictive. Social interaction and exercising go for a toss. And it has been found to be more prevalent among the younger people. A person reading a book a day from cover to cover is not termed a binge reader. Someone who works non-stop is termed a workaholic but in reality he or she is also bingeing. Following this loose definition, during this ongoing pandemic I have faced a grave danger – that of becoming a binge watcher. Added to this has been the information overload through emails, social media platforms and text messages. There are companies desperate to sell their products and seem to be making all sorts of tall claims.