Binge Watch Addiction

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Published on November 25, 2019 by

Services for healthy use of technology (SHUT) clinic at NIMHANS reports four to five cases of binge-watch addiction per week.

There is a 20% increase in reported cases this year as compared to the previous year.

Dr. Manoj Sharma says, “Binge watching is a recent phenomenon. While we treat youngsters for gaming addiction, they also end up being detected for binge-watching.”

Binge-watching is the practice of watching multiple episodes of a television programme or web series in rapid succession without breaks.

“One case was this unemployed man started watching shows to avoid stress but soon started watching them for seven to eight hours a day becoming preoccupied and losing his sleep.” Mention Dr. Manoj.

The main symptoms of the addiction are fatigue, restlessness and insomnia.

Mohini Vijay, Psychologist says, “Fear of losing out is one of the major reasons that push youngsters towards watching such shows.”

Peer pressure and a lack of parental guidance lead to the development of this addiction in teenagers.

Shreshtha Dutta, psychologist says, “One must be allowed to pursue any hobby one likes. The kids must be encouraged to play and avoid use of any kind of technology at least 40 minutes before going to bed.”

Preventive measures like regular exercise, a limit in viewing hours and engaging in yoga or meditation can be integrated into one’s daily routine.

“I’ve binged watch only one series. I realized that I might get addicted to it and therefore I switched to other activities soon after.” Tells Bhoomika Sharma, a student.

Youngsters can look forward to adopting similar methods to avoid addiction. It results in nothing but a social cutoff and reclusion.

 

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