One weekend, I had minimal work, some of my friends had gone home, and I had some time to kill. With this time, I decided to quickly watch a mini television series from BBC called “The Young Doctor’s Notebook.” The short runtime and excellent quality led me to believe that finishing the series over the weekend would be an enjoyable and relaxing experience where I would be able to follow the story without any gaps that could cause me to forget important details. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
While the weekend was relaxing and enjoyable, and I was still able to remain productive because the series only lasts eight episodes, each only about twenty minutes, I regret binging the show because it was fantastic. Am I making sense? No? Well, let me explain.
In my past few articles, I have talked about how impressive stories create an emotional experience that nurture our personality. However, nurturing takes time. An infant does not mature in a day or after a week. You must integrate yourself into the story and become involved with it in order for the personality to be affected.
This is why binging is not effective. Sure, you can still watch a brilliant show and find it inspiring or quality entertainment. However, the shows where you pace yourself and watch it over a long period of time have a more longing impact on your creative mind. If you do so, you can take the time to reflect on the events of the plot and what they mean while also building up excitement for the next installment.
Albeit, I prefer environmental perfection when I watch my shows. By that, I mean no interruptions, a comfortable position, dark room, headphones, maybe a bowl of popcorn or ice cream, a glass of water or juice and adequate time to finish the episode without rushing around. For me, a lot of elements go into television viewing. The reason being I want to incorporate myself into the story and be able to absorb every element. By doing this, I can decide whether the show is right for me and if the story is adequate enough for me invest my time into finishing the show.
Interestingly enough, I once found that taking out the elements that made watching a show fun for me--not "truly watching"-- ruined the show for me. It was a show called “Yu Yu Hakusho” and I thoroughly enjoyed the first season after "truly watching" it. Then I started the second season and only watched it while doing chores, like ironing. Becoming disinterested in the show, I stopped watching it completely. About a year later, I decided to get back into it and viewed it only in the conditions I mentioned above. Now, it is one of my favorite television shows I have ever seen. I never want to make the same mistake twice, so I only watch during perfect conditions.
The reason I am asking you to stop binge watching television shows is because I believe the stories TV shows tell deserve to be listened to with full attention--without that, the show is near pointless. So, enjoy and watch on!
