London: According to team of scientists, bingeing on your favourite Netflix series could be bad for your health. Scientists have suggested that when people get engrossed in a series, they could feel post-binge blues when they finally get to the end, the Mirror reported. Social acceptance of “binge-watching” has grown hugely in recent times and Collins Dictionary even declared “binge-watch” the word of the year for 2015.
A 2013 survey by Netflix showed that 73 per cent of the respondents viewed binge-watching as a socially acceptable behavior, but excessive TV watching has been linked to mental health problems. The recent survey for The Conversation questioned 406 North American adults and found that the majority of respondents defined binge-watching as two to five hours of consecutive video viewing in one day.
About 35 percent of the respondents admitted that they binge-watch TV and self-identified binge-watchers were more likely to report higher stress, anxiety and depression.
The researchers said that the study shows only a correlation and not causation, adding that they don’t know whether depression, stress and anxiety are caused by binge-watching or it is the other way around.About 85 percent of the respondents said that they had noticed advertisements encouraging binge-watching.
A separate study revealed that on average, Americans spend about two hours and 49 minutes per day watching television, and it accounts for more than 50 percent of their daily leisure activities.
