#7 - BINGE WATCHING

 Binge Watching

While the term "binge watching" was first recorded in 2003, the term gained its popularity around 2012 with the growing number of binge watchers on services like Netflix. In 2015, Collins English Dictionary declared "binge-watch" the word of the year partly because its usage increased 200% the previous year. As of 2022, binge watching had some pretty interesting statistics that spiked tremendously throughout the hit of coronavirus. 

As of January 2022 the binge watching statistics from Britannica were as stated:

    - 73% of Americans admit to binge watching.

    - The average binge lasts 3 hours and 8 minutes.

    - 90% of millennials and 87% of Gen Z stated they binge watch.

    - 40% of the mentioned age groups binge an average of six episodes per sitting.

With the COVID pandemic, many streaming services saw a huge spike in their ratings due to binge watching. 

    - The number of streaming service subscriptions passed 1 billion worldwide for the first time in 2020.

    - Online video subscription soared 26% to 1.1 billion in 2020.

    - HBO saw a 65% jump in subscribers watching three or more episodes at once starting on March 14, 2020.

When it comes to the types of shows that are binge watched, there are a few top genres that come to mind. Some of these include nostalgia, crime, reality tv, sitcoms, and others. Personally, there are a couple genres that I tend to gravitate towards when sitting down to binge watch. The genre that I am currently binge watching is reality competition shows. I sat down around 2 weeks ago looking for something to binge watch, and I decided on The Challenge. This is an MTV competition show that has been going on since the early 2000s. I watch it when it comes on every season, but I decided to go back and watch some of seasons that came on right around the time I started watching it or before. Currently I am watching my fourth season in about 2 weeks.

Another genre I lean towards is the nostalgia category. I think there are different sides to this category for me. One part of it is what most people would think of when they hear "nostalgia". This includes me watching shows that I watched when I was younger or that I associate older memories with. I recognized this when Disney+ came out and I binge watched some of my favorite childhood Disney Channel shows. The other side of the nostalgia genre for me is when I watch things that, even if I did not watch them when I was younger, they include themes or ideas that feel nostalgic to me. A huge example of this is Gilmore Girls. While I did not watch that show until I was an older teenager, there are so many things in it that embody the early 2000s that make me feel so nostalgic!

Overall, I think binge watching is a habit that is here to stay for a long time. Especially with the increase of streaming services and their popularity, binge watching is becoming (or already has become) a major past time of viewers and looks like it is here to stay.