The notion of ‘the simple pleasures in life’ being all one needs has been somewhat smashed to pieces as in recent years we’ve discovered that everything from red meat to flossing our teeth is potentially bad for us. And if you thought you were going to get a break now, think again.
Along with alcohol, smoking, stress, animal products, and sleep deprivation, it appears there is another beloved culprit on the scene willing us to our deaths – binge-watching!
Yep, a new study from the University of Buffalo seems to give definitive proof that self proclaimed binge-watchers exhibit higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress! Another study carried out by the Harvard similarly concluded that among self proclaimed binge-watchers (people who watch more than two hours a night and admit that they’ve lost sleep because of watching TV) the risk of diabetes increased by 20% and the risk of heart disease went up by 15%.
Far from Netflix and chill, it sounds a lot more like Netflix and get yourself some good health insurance, because you going down! 74% of adults in the UK admit that they watch more TV than they intended to, meaning that it’s obviously a widespread and widely under-discussed health hazard!
In fact, arguably there’s a certain social prestige and reward to being on top of your TV series game! It trends on Twitter, it’s all people in work can talk about in the office kitchen, and it’s an important part often of starting to see someone (if someone continues to watch a series without you it is the ultimate treason, we all know this).
Basically unlike eating too much sugar, boozing too much, never exercising, eating processed food, societally we haven’t begun to ‘shame’ people for binge-watching TV and going on Netflix marathons.
And should we?
Ideally there should be less moralising about what will and will not kill one perhaps, but similarly we should keep in mind how much popular culture and perceived wisdom determines what is and is not good for us and question it. What’s more, we just want to watch our shows in peace, is that a crime?
