From a certain point of view, Netflix is like a game of Civilization: there's always room for one more turn, or episode. By breaking the tyranny of the weekly wait, millions of people surrender in front of the screen with the goal of "catching up", devouring entire seasons within hours. However, an increasing number of studies suggest the existence of negative effects linked to so-called "binge watching". The good news is that these effects can be minimized, but series fans don't seem very intimidated...
Online translators often process "binge" as "borrachera", but its full definition extends to any activity done in excess, and that's when the Royal Spanish Academy suggests "atracón".
Beyond these small differences, when we hear the phrase binge watching we know exactly what it means: they recommend a series, Netflix offers all its seasons without commercials, and we give it the entire weekend. We arrive at Monday, and instead of describing our rest, we do a fast-forward recap of a series that a "normal" person would watch over several weeks.
It's the new way of consuming video, and nothing is going to change in the short term. When I say "nothing" I also mean classic warnings. How many times were we told that spending too much time in front of the TV would be bad for us? What was once an unbearable phrase from our relatives now seems to have some scientific basis...
The Effect of Binge Watching on Your Health
Let's start with something disturbing: in the 60s, a binge-watching marathon could have been potentially lethal. General Electric released defective units to the market that emitted X-rays thousands of times more intense than recommended, establishing the famous "don't sit too close to the screen" that we still hear today. GE recalled all affected televisions, and no cases of illness were reported.
Returning to the present, the first to feel the impact are our eyes, for the simple reason that we blink less, when the average is 18 times per minute. In the case of children, prolonged exposure to TV can lead to general developmental problems, and to the presence of myopia, although the latter is still under debate. Of course, the critical point of watching television is a sedentary lifestyle, to which are added obesity and risk of diabetes. In fact, watching less television burns more calories, even if physical activity doesn't change.
Another not-recommended aspect is watching TV before sleeping. In the past we have explored the effects of blue light on sleep quality, and modern screens don't escape this. Even worse, watching more than 20 hours of TV per week affects "other" activities in the bedroom, reducing sperm count by more than 40 percent. Finally, we come to the darkest part: too much time in front of the screen is killing us.
An Australian study published in 2011 indicates that after age 25, each hour of TV subtracts 22 minutes of life. Fortunately, all this can be compensated with a little extra physical activity and limiting TV sessions to two or three hours a day... but I imagine several fans out there thinking that the studies, the researchers, and I myself should all go to the $%%/%$’$”$#...
