Binge-watching TV shows can make you lose the plot

WATCHING all the episodes of a TV series in one go makes for less satisfying viewing than waiting week on week for the next episode as binge-watchers are more likely to forget plot details, researchers have claimed.

In a study by the University of Melbourne, researchers split 51 students to split into three groups of 17.

One watched an episode of the BBC Cold War drama The Game on a weekly basis, while another watched them on a daily basis. The final group watched all six episodes at once – six hours of TV.

After watching all the episodes, all the participants filled out a questionnaire to say how well they understood the show three times – 24 hours later, a week later and 140 days later.

Binge-watchers remembered the most the day after seeing the show but remembered the least after 140 days. Weekly viewers showed the weakest memory after 24 hours but the best memory over a longer time.

When it came to enjoyment, binge watchers liked The Game “significantly less” than those who watched it on a weekly or daily basis, the study found.

The study was published in online peer-reviewed journal First Monday.