Over the past few decades, various advancements in technology have directly impacted the way we experience home entertainment. Much of our home entertainment is linked to consuming forms of media like music, TV shows, and movies. Thanks to these technological advancements, anyone can access these media forms with incredible ease and convenience.
Streaming Is Changing the Scene
One of these developments is the concept of streaming media. This has essentially changed the entire landscape of how we consume some forms of media. This method is mostly used for delivering video and audio content to media consumers through the internet.
When we stream a video, the data needed to play it is continuously transmitted to our devices through an internet connection. We can watch the video while the data is being transmitted. Also, none of this data will be stored on the devices used to stream the content. This method makes for fast and convenient content consumption.
The Rise of Binge-watching
Many media corporations today now have streaming services and platforms that offer various forms of media. These platforms have made hundreds of movies and television shows readily available for people to watch in their own time. Since these pieces of content are on-demand, it can be very easy to watch multiple episodes successively.
Watching episodes successively is essentially known as binge-watching. Some shows are just too good that we want to consume them as fast as we can. Of course, binge-watching has been happening for some time now.
Before streaming became prevalent, shows were sold in box sets. This may have allowed people back then to enjoy their favorite shows in a single sitting. Streaming services essentially intensified this phenomenon.
The Negative Implications of Binge-watching
Binge-watching looks fun and harmless at first, but this practice has been widely viewed negatively. This is because of the effects that directly result from binge-watching. For one, this is seen as a misuse of our valuable time. Also, this is seen as a factor that encourages a sedentary lifestyle.
Despite the negative implications, we cannot help but binge-watch our favorite shows. This is because watching these shows helps us relieve stress. It’s easy to be absorbed in a good show that makes us feel good. With that, let’s discuss what we can do to minimize these negative impacts.
Get Comfortable
Of course, when we binge-watch, we need to be in our most comfortable state. We should maximize the stress-relieving properties of watching our favorite shows. With that, we should do everything we can to achieve maximum comfort. We can even pull out a body massager if we really want to unwind as we watch our favorite shows.
Set Aside Time for Binge-watching
It may also help to schedule our binge-watching. This may help us avoid impulsively watching these shows during inappropriate times of the day. When we control our schedule for binge-watching, we may prevent it from intervening with our other activities.
When we create these binge-watching schedules, we need to strictly adhere to them. Again, some shows are incredibly captivating. If we try to sneak in a few minutes of watching, we cannot help but to fully indulge in them. From there, it can be so easy to lose control.
Finish Your Urgent Tasks First
As mentioned, binge-watching will take up a lot of our time. It is understandable why this activity is seen as a waste of time. This is mainly because some people binge-watch their favorite shows during times when they have other things to do, like homework or chores.
With that, we should always make sure that we do this in our free time. We cannot afford to binge-watch shows when other, more urgent things need our attention. This will easily make us unproductive if we do not finish our tasks first.
Don’t Forget To Take Breaks
People are not wrong when they say binge-watching is bad for our physical health. When we watch these shows for long periods, it yields several bad effects on our health. For one, getting less physical exercise will negatively affect our heart health. Prolonged exposure to an electronic screen will also cause eyestrain. Doing this too much will undoubtedly hurt our eye health in the long run.
Taking breaks between episodes would be an incredibly helpful idea. Yes, these shows may be great. But sacrificing our health for our entertainment will cost us in the future. We can spend these breaks doing stretches and other minimal exercises. This break will also help ease the strain that our eyes may feel.
Binge-watching shows is not inherently a bad activity. But if we are not cautious, we will undoubtedly experience its harmful effects. With that, we should always do everything in our power to enjoy our favorite shows while avoiding the bad things that come with watching them.
