Getting hooked on an outstanding new show is one of life’s best guilty pleasures. Especially when you’re late to the game and find yourself an entire season or two, or three or four behind. Binge watching has become the new great American pastime.

Always on the lookout for a new favorite show, I’ve binged on AMC’s Breaking Bad, FX’s Fargo, HBO’s Game of Thrones and Netflix’s House of Cards over the past eighteen months – and can hardily recommend you do the same. But fair warning, a new study suggests that much like eating too much cake, consuming too much of the show you love too quickly also has repercussions.  In fact, BINGE WATCHING can lead to depression and loneliness.  Deadline has the story.

from Deadline.com:

A new study sheds some light — or darkness — on the modern habit of binge-watching. Researchers at the University of Texas found that the more lonely and depressed a person is, the likelier he or she is to sit through a marathon of their favorite TV show.

The study, titled “A Bad Habit For Your Health? An Exploration Of Psychological Factors For Binge-Watching Behavior,” asked 316 people ages 18-29 how often they watch TV; how often they had feelings of loneliness, depression and self-regulation deficiency; and how often they binge-watched TV. It found that people who are lonely or depressed were more inclined to binge watch, using the activity to move away from negative feelings.

“Even though some people argue that binge-watching is a harmless addiction, findings from our study suggest that binge-watching should no longer be viewed this way,” said Yoon Hi Sung, who conducted the study with Eun Yeon Kang and Wei-Na Lee. “Physical fatigue and problems such as obesity and other health problems are related to binge-watching, and they are a cause for concern.”

Read More @ Deadline.com

The post Fair Warning: BINGE WATCHING Can Bum You Out appeared first on Digital Bucket.