2fer #7

Matthew Reed

English 3

April 23, 2018

There are many media streaming services such as: Netflix, Hulu, and Youtube.  People find themselves watching tv most of the time. A new trend with the availability of complete series and seasons of t.v. shows through streaming services is binge watching. Binge watching is a very popular trend now that streaming services have become more popular. People binge watch tv shows to escape reality; their world of boredom and depression to find themselves in something a lot more interesting,  this does not always last forever, and can sometimes hold people back.

Most people find themselves watching television for fun. They just want to kill the time before their next task or assignment. However , there are some individuals that want a quick escape that will help them forget about their lives. One person who sought this out was writer, Julian Kimble. Kimble was struggling with depression and feelings that his life was meaningless. He had trouble getting out of bed, and completing daily tasks. He found his easy escape in television shows, remembering how he used to love tv when he was a child. This is what he wrote in his article on The Fader, “Between streaming services, premium channels, and network television, there’s an overabundance of shows, limited-series dramas, films, comedy specials, and documentaries to get lost in. But where others see a bottomless abyss, I see an opportunity to immerse myself in the winding narratives of other people’s lives.” From this it is shown that Kimble needed an escape due to his life beings overwhelming. He was trying to surround himself with fictional scenarios and problems because he wants to forget about his own. Notice how he says, “But where others see a bottomless abyss…”. He doesn’t know what’s best for him right now, he just sees a easy and quick fix and goes for it. However, conquering depression takes a lot of someone’s will power. Ignoring his problems and going somewhere else is digging the whole even deeper. He is not bettering himself by giving in to fantasy world of television.

People believe that binging television will make their lives better, but there is a study done by the University of Texas that suggests otherwise. During the study, hundreds of millennials were asked a series of questions about their binge watching habits to see what the psychological effects it has on someone. Newsweek wrote an article about the study. Here’s what they said about the outcome, “What they found was troubling—people who binge-watch are more likely to be depressed and lonely…”  It was shown in the quote, that depression can be caused by binging. People are spending all of their time trying escape the real world into a fantasy one. They are losing track of their everyday life, and isolating themselves from it. This is why they feel so alone. They spend all their time watching tv, they start to lose focus of the real people around them. Eventually drifting apart from them. At times, they may believe this is a good thing. If they do not have any real life relationships they can focus all there time on the fake world, and they do not have to deal with the hardships of human relationships. However, this facade does not hold forever. When the fantasy ends, they return to reality and realize they are alone and worse off then they were before.

If binge watchers stopped to think about it, they would realize that binge watching is not just about trying to find happiness , but trying to abandon their lives because they are bored of them. Binge watching creates an quick and easy escape from reality. However, when people return they find themselves alone and depressed. Binge watching might seem helpful at first, but it’s just a unhealthy abyss.

I believe that this essay is my best 2fer. I am very passionate about my topic and my thesis. Binge watching Netflix and Television is something I find myself doing a lot. I have always thought that it was harmless, and an easy way to kill the time. However, I only recently realized what kind of negative effects that is having on me. Instead of using it to kill time, I use it as an excuse to sit in my room away from the rest of society which does not help my mental state at all. I have learned to stop watching a show after a couple episodes. There is nothing wrong with relaxing after a long day and watching some Netflix, but it should not be a hobby. It should stay as luxury. In my essay, I represented my point of view very well without using my direct opinions on the topic. My analysis reflected on what binge watching can do to someone’s mind. Overall, I find this to be my best 2fer, and I am very proud of it.

• Kimble, Julian. The FADER, How I Tried To Escape Reality. Published April 21, 2017.Accessed April 18, 2018 .http://www.thefader.com/2017/04/21/binge-watching-tv-mental-health-essay (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.