The rise of binge watching and endless scrolling

Television screens and smartphone displays have become constant companions in daily life.

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Binge watching

From the moment many people wake up until late at night, they are drawn to stories and feeds that keep them glued to their screens.Binge watching television shows and endlessly scrolling through social media posts have become widespread behaviors that shape how people spend their free time, how they feel about themselves, and how society evolves. These habits are so common that entire industries now depend on them. To understand this modern cultural phenomenon, we must look at the psychological, social, economic, and technological forces that play a role. What drives people to watch episodes back to back until the early hours or to keep refreshing their social media feeds in search of new posts? The answers reveal a lot about human behavior in the digital age.

Television binge watching is the act of watching multiple episodes of a show in one sitting. In the past, viewers waited a week between episodes. Today, with entire seasons released at once by streaming services, waiting is no longer necessary. Many people have experienced the irresistible urge to watch one more episode, even when they know it may cut into their sleep. This behavior is not random. It is encouraged by storytelling techniques that end episodes with unresolved plotlines that make viewers want to know what happens next. Writers and producers have perfected the art of creating narrative hooks that make it difficult to stop watching at the end of an episode. When characters are compelling and the plot is engaging, viewers develop emotional attachments. They want to see how conflicts resolve and where relationships end up. This emotional investment contributes to long viewing sessions.