WHEN “THE NEXT EPISODE” IS TOO MUCH? WATCHING TV SERIES AS A NON-ADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGY

Abstract

Binge-watching has become a usual behavior for many people, especially during the COVID-19 pandemics, satisfying immediate needs for relaxation. However, concerns were raised about using binge-watching as a coping mechanism, as it usually becomes a maladaptive coping style, leading to serious mental health issues such as loneliness, depression, anxiety, and sleep problems. The objective of this study is to identify the relations between binge-watching as a way of coping and several variables that were identified as effects of excessive television consumption: problematic behavior, loneliness, and procrastination. The results showed that individuals with high scores for using coping as a reason for watching TV series or movies tend to have high scores in terms of problematic behavior when it comes to television watching. Moreover, watching series as a strategy for coping was a good predictor for developing problematic binge-watching behaviors regarding television. The associations between excessive binge-watching, loneliness and procrastination was confirmed in this study with a moderate effect, similar to other studies in literature. Further research is needed to expand the conclusions to other participants than adolescents and young adults.