Time Wasting and the Contemporary Television-Viewing Experience

Abstract

This article explores contemporary changes in television-viewing habits and experiences brought about by the advent of online streaming television services. It identifies Raymond Williams's concept of “flow” as essential to the traditional viewing experience and posits that the boundless choice of on-demand viewing services superficially disrupts the desirable experience of “flow” for contemporary viewers. Excessive choice and unfettered access to content has ironically left viewers nostalgic for traditional forms of television viewing. This nostalgia is apparent in the viewing habits of users of streaming television services and in the methods these services themselves employ to deliver programing to their users.

Understanding the Phenomenon of Binge-Watching—A Systematic Review

“…The viewer does not have to wait a week for the release of the next episode, which is characteristic of traditional television [3]. However, one should also mention that binge-watching existed earlier and manifested itself as watching multiple episodes in TV marathons, on VHS, DVD, DVR-digital video recorder, or VOD-video on demand [4][5][6][7]. The popularity of binge-watching increased between 2011 and 2015, ultimately to become a normal way of consuming TV series among general audiences [8].…”

Binge-Watching Serial Video Content: Exploring the Subjective Phenomenology of the Binge-Watching Experience

“…Our results also show that those with low ability to experience flow do in fact binge longer, presumably because they are motivated by the enjoyment gratifications resulting from attaining a state of flow. Samuel's (2017) exploration of contemporary television-viewing habits provides additional insight into the relationship between binge-watching and viewers' ability to experience flow: choice fatigue and unrestricted amounts of available content contribute to the disruption of flow in the contemporary experience of television consumption. By binge-watching, "audiences' relationships with television remain fluid and continuous, perhaps intensely so" (Samuel, 2017, p. 83-84).…”

The media marketing of the VOD platforms in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic – an exploratory study

“…The other thread focuses on the binge-watching phenomenon. For example, Panda and Pandey (2017) investigate the various triggers and consequences of binge-watching, while Samuel (2017) explores changes in contemporary television-viewing habits and experiences brought by on-demand platforms.…”