The one thing millennials today look forward to after a tiring day at work is to head back home to the comfort of their pajamas, to binge on TV shows and web series. Call it a stress-buster or a means for entertainment, the amount of time you invest into watching these shows seems to be pointing towards an unhealthy addiction.
The first case was diagnosed in Bengaluru’s Nation Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (Nimhans), when a 26-year-old man approached the doctors worried about the time he spent on video games. After interviewing him, it turned out that the problem wasn’t the video games but the amount of time he spent on watching these shows online.
We talk to urbanites to find out how much time they spend on watching these shows and how much of a surprise it is to them to discover such a negative trend.
Adrian Kagoo, co-founder of an advertising firm, spends two to three hours a day watching web series and TV shows, a hobby that does not restrict itself to leisure time but is squeezed in between work. He says, “I don’t go to sleep without watching a movie or episodes of a series. Often, when I’m on the go, waiting for a client or a meeting, I watch these shows or videos to kill time and avoid getting bored. Moreover, once you start watching a particular series, you get into it and are curious about what will happen next. It gets me hooked on to the show and I end up binge-watching them. There are many people who use these shows to vent out their frustration but to me, it’s just a way to kill time.”
When asked how they feel about an addiction of this sort, most youngsters were surprised; not about the good amount of time we spend on the internet but it reaching the extent of an addiction.
Swathi Rayasam, an analyst says, “I watch shows or videos online once I’m back home after 12 hours of work. I watch it to unwind and calm myself down from the stressful day. I sometimes do allow myself a little extra time of Netflix, compromising on my sleep. But it has never reached a point where I am addicted to it. I am actually surprised to know that people have that kind of time to binge on these shows and videos with the kind of work schedules we have.”
And why do these youngsters not read a book or catch up with their friends instead of indulging in these shows? Jilson J, a lead logistics specialist, responds by saying that the reason might be laziness.
He says, “I work twelve hours a day and as much as I would like to catch up with friends or meet them for a coffee I am exhausted by the time I am back home, neither will my friends be up for it. Watching shows is a stress buster that I count on. Once I’m back home I easily spend two hours a day watching videos and catching up on TV series. I don’t restrict myself to watching shows on Netflix, there are some shows that I have found very interesting on Amazon, YouTube and Hotstar as well. There is a variety I can choose from.”
Manoj Kumar Sharma, a clinical psychologist and co-ordinator of SHUT clinic (Service for Healthy Use of Technology), at Nimhans shares with us when the habit becomes an addiction and how they remedy it.
“Watching shows and videos is a recreational activity. There is a thin line which separates this activity from becoming an addiction; when the usage becomes excess making this mode of relaxation recurrent, further making the person preoccupied with it. They tend to exhibit withdrawal symptoms. Those addicted spend a lot of time on a daily basis watching these shows, leading to tiredness, fatigue, and disturbance in relationships. There are various psychological factors and personality characteristics that influence this. To deal with the problem, we provide career counselling and work on relaxation exercises. If your hobby is recurrent and you are preoccupied with it, you tend to lose control. This is a sign that you need to seek help.”
