The Beauty of Binging

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/binging

I'm a binger, I struggle doing things that I like in moderation. Recently my most familiar binges have all been trumped by one thing, Netflix. I realize this is not a new trend, however I never bought a subscription to Netflix because I know my issues. I recently gave in at the beginning of August and haven't been able to turn back since. It all started one day when I was bored and had some hours to spare before going to work, by the next morning I had watched 11 episodes of Orange is the New Black (yes, I did go to work). 

OITNB

Now that I think about it, this actually began in the beginning of summer when I borrowed a friend's Netflix account to begin watching Downton Abbey. Followed by getting Amazon Prime just to watch Season 2, oh and finishing Season 3 in 2 days just so my free-trial wouldn't run out.

I didn't really start detecting a problem with it until I started and finished the 5 seasons of Mad Men that are available on Netflix in about 3 weeks. It isn't the amount of time I spend watching that stuck out to me, I still get done what I need to do; I hang out with my friends, work at school, work at the bakery, workout, do homework (that's a lot of work for one sentence). But I started to notice with Mad Men that I would become more excited about certain episodes based on the writers and directors mentioned in the opening credits. Why? I don't know, it isn't like I can really tell a difference but it was the fact that I was watching so many episodes in succession that I started to recognize names and details I would normally never pay attention to.

It's after this screen they list the writers and director.

That's the beauty of binging. I become so immersed in the story lines, characters, and the details of the show that I become attached. I now understand why daily soap operas do so well and have been on forever, people become emotionally invested in the characters and the story lines because they don't have to wait another week before they can watch again. Watching Netflix, I know that my addiction can be fed in 15..14..13...seconds. Despite how farfetched the story lines become, I can still find connections to myself and a character who a) most resembles me, or b) I would really like to be.

Binge watching has led me to constantly thinking about whatever I am currently watching and I want to talk about the characters constantly, even to people who don't watch...because every good binge needs some form of purge. In fact the entire time I've been writing this dinky post, all I can think about is how quickly I can finish so I can get back to watching my latest obsession, Revenge. 

Sadly, binging has gotten in the way of my reading. I spend much less time reading because all of my free time is spent watching Netflix or now that it's NFL season, football. But seriously, who cares? I CAN'T STOP WATCHING!!