For students, summer is the best time to binge watch television shows and movies.
Binge watching, similar to binge eating, is a common phenomenon that is especially prevalent among students during summer break. There are different factors that lead students to end up binge watching. One way or another, many students find themselves binge watching and have to consciously make an effort to stop, and it is always difficult to focus back on school when the ever-present temptation of television is easy to indulge in.
SOPHOMORE EVAN ZHANG
“I think [my] average talking to someone in person [was] like one person in 23 hours,” Zhang said about socializing during the summer.
WHAT HE BINGE WATCHED: Iron Man 3, Pitch Perfect, Men in Black 1-3, Toy Story 1-3, Shrek 3.
WHAT HE CONSIDERS A BINGE: 1 movie per day.
WHY HE BINGE WATCHED: To fill up the free time that otherwise would have been spent at school studying and socializing; as an easy way to avoid boredom and kill time.
HOW HE PLANS TO KEEP HIS BINGE WATCHING IN CHECK: By using his computer less—but he needs his computer to do the work and study for his classes, so his dad blocks YouTube on his computer to prevent him from indulging in the temptation to watch movies on his computer.
Source: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
SENIOR JOSEPH MARTIN
“My dad thought stuff on TV wasn’t moral. I agree with that, especially when you’re young,” Martin said. “The wrong things are on, and it’s not easy to [judge] because you have very little control over what you’re influenced by.”
WHAT HE BINGE WATCHED: The Jeffersons, a show from the ‘70s and ‘80s introduced to him by his former American Literature teacher Shozo Shimazaki.
WHAT HE CONSIDERS A BINGE: 8 to 10 half-hour episodes.
WHY HE BINGE WATCHED: As a sort of reward to himself that he felt was earned after working so hard during school, especially after junior year.
HOW HE PLANS TO KEEP HIS BINGE WATCHING IN CHECK: Limit his television watching to only a couple of episodes, if any, on Fridays—but would be better if he just loses interest; the best way is to discourage himself from watching television by just avoiding it altogether.
Source: T.A.T. Communications Company, NRW Productions, Ragamuffin Productions, Embassy Television
SENIOR STUTI ARORA
“I watch the same shows my friends watch,” Arora said. “Actually, more like I start watching it, and then I force my friends to start watching it.”
WHAT SHE BINGE WATCHED: Breaking Bad, The West Wing, MTV shows.
WHAT SHE CONSIDERS A BINGE: 3 or 4 episodes a day.
WHY SHE BINGE WATCHED: As a lifestyle, a hobby, a common interest she shares with her friends.
HOW SHE PLANS TO KEEP HER BINGE WATCHING IN CHECK: “I tend to stress watch TV like [people] stress eat,” Arora said about watching television during the school year. “It’s probably going to get worse. I think over the weekends, that’s all I’ll be doing, just watching TV.”
Source: High Bridge Entertainment, Gran Via Productions, Sony Pictures Television
