Beware the binge
An obsession with screening services is affecting home viewers’ well-being
People are being treated for “binge-watching addiction” in the first reported cases of their kind in Britain. Patients are seeking help at clinics after admitting that Netflix and other on-demand screening services have taken over their lives. One 35-year-old man admitted he had put his job at risk because he was compelled to watch crime shows for hours every day.
Each sufferer has been offered counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy to conquer their obsession with television. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy said it was aware of the problem and urged other sufferers to seek treatment.
Viewing habits are increasingly dominated by on-demand streaming services, the popularity of which led Netflix to claim 34 Golden Globe nominations at Sunday night’s awards, including four for popular series The Crown.
More than 150 million people now have a Netflix subscription and the technology has led to the rise of binge-watching.
Adam Cox, a registered psychotherapist, treated three patients at his clinic last year after they developed an unhealthy addiction to providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. “All three had fallen into a dangerous loop where they felt unable to switch off,” he said. “They just had to watch the next episode, and the one after that and the one after that.
“A TV cliffhanger is a reward mechanism — like drink or drugs. It releases dopamine, and that can be an issue for people who have other stresses or anxieties in their life. It causes lack of sleep, which sends productivity through the floor, and stops people forming proper relationships.”
Cox said the series Breaking Bad sent one 35-year-old London man spiralling into Netflix addiction. After devouring three seasons, he moved on to the true-crime documentary Making a Murderer. Soon he was watching crime shows and action movies for seven hours a day.
“He would watch until he was too exhausted to keep his eyes open, finally falling asleep around 4 a.m.,” Cox said. The man’s work began to suffer and he was soon in fear for his job. He was single and his TV obsession meant any relationship was out of the question. Cox treated the patient with counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy.
Netflix has made no secret of its ambition to get people hooked on its shows. Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, famously said in 2017 that he viewed “sleep” as the service’s main competitor.
Hilda Burke, a registered psychotherapist, treated two clients who successfully overcame their Netflix addictions. She said: “In the old days you had the discipline of having to wait a week for the next episode. Now it’s instant gratification.
“Most people can ignore the impulse to keep watching. But some can’t control themselves, especially when they can watch on their mobile devices. They can’t escape. I find it quite concerning that Netflix is trying to colonize people’s lives in that way.”
Netflix has declined to comment. Insiders, however, have defended the streaming giant’s decision to offer viewers maximum control over what they want to watch, and for how long.
London Daily Telegraph