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Escapism, I engage in that often, seeking ways to get away from reality even for a second.
But one of the things I remember from the anti-drug films of the 70s was about how people use drugs to escape their problems but when it wears off, one's problems are still there.
So is escapism right at all, what's the difference?
Well, with a book or a movie or a TV show, one reaches the end and the production says "The End". Hopefully it is well made and one is left with a feeling of satisfaction. They cannot jump back in wanting "More, More, More!".
But does the ability to Binge Watch (or networks offering marathons) defeat that? Are we being hit with the same characteristics of drug addiction......and the viewer doesn't know it?
IMHO it doesn't matter what the "activity" is. If binge watching, gaming, drug use, sports, preparing your personal survivalist bunker, or something else absorbing gets to the point it interferes with a "normal" (I hate that word) productive, responsible life, that's not a good thing. If you are escaping because you don't want to deal with a bigger problem, that's not a great solution. I suspect someone with this intent knows what they do it for. A vehicle is a vehicle regardless of format. However, I don't see "escapism" as something necessarily negative. Immersing yourself in a world other than your own could be very educational. Would you consider this "binge watching" less escapist and more legitimate if it was the PBS "Nature" series as opposed to "90 Day Fiance"? Neither of those have a finite end. One expands the mind. The other annoys it.
Last edited by Parnassia; 01-26-2020 at 03:51 PM..
IMHO it doesn't matter what the "activity" is. If binge watching, gaming, drug use, sports, preparing your personal survivalist bunker, or something else absorbing gets to the point it interferes with a "normal" (I hate that word) productive, responsible life, that's not a good thing. If you are escaping because you don't want to deal with a bigger problem, that's not a great solution. I suspect someone with this intent knows what they do it for. A vehicle is a vehicle regardless of format. However, I don't see "escapism" as something necessarily negative. Immersing yourself in a world other than your own could be very educational. Would you consider this "binge watching" less escapist and more legitimate if it was the PBS "Nature" series as opposed to "90 Day Fiance"? Neither of those have a finite end. One expands the mind. The other annoys it.
If you say so........I do not know these shows.
I don't binge watch any show but I don't know if my reasoning applies here. It is simply that there is a limited amount of them, there will be no more, and hence, I try to stretch them out as much as I can.
I have noted that a well made movie, even a lousy subject movie, performs that ending which gives one a feeling of closure, of satisfaction, so they are satisfied with the ending and don't immediately search got the next.
But.....while I may be satisfied with a Harry Potter, I have only seen two yet have them all, what is it that makes other people binge? Something that has changed the satisfaction of the neurotransmitters?
CD posting, drinkin vino by jugs, watching porn, haha, playin strip poker, smokin moonshine, yada yada...
yes it is ALL a form of OCD & addictive behavior. if it controls YOU it aint good n thus fits bill of addiction. good or bad it is still something YOU cannot control but rather IT controls YOU! my .02
The thing about cats, as someone observed from afar, is that the human does not decide when it ends; they do.
The thing about porn is that most of us have a satisfaction/burn out point where we eventually turn it off. That's the new stuff. Something like, oh say, Miss Directed, has a quality like a well made movie......if it is not seeing one scene after another being more outrageous than the one before.
CD posting? Well, I suppose that depends on the person, such as if they are into a well written post and hence only do it for a pass or two or if they are into one liners and seem to go on forever (as the logs indicate).
As it is, I think I am about to give up for the night and go do other things. First, because a posting has reminded me not to get caught up in the Net.
And second? The cat that was on my lap left a few minutes ago.
My definition of an addition is any repetitive compulsion that you engage in that causes you harm. It's usually an expression of feeling intense helplessness over something that you don't feel you can control and so the compulsion is a displaced action you take instead of dealing with the issue in a more direct way.
I like binge watching as much as the next person...but I don't think it's an addiction to the point of escaping "my problems". There is a "pause" button. I can stop the show to take care of necessary things.
And if I'm bingeing on a weekend...it's because there really isn't much else to do.
But.....while I may be satisfied with a Harry Potter, I have only seen two yet have them all, what is it that makes other people binge? Something that has changed the satisfaction of the neurotransmitters?
Again, I'd suspect they are procrastinating, avoiding something else. Of course there are minor avoidances like laundry, balancing a checkbook, painting the garage, and major avoidances like paying overdue bills or delinquent taxes, settling a family dispute. The method they are using in order to do it, such as binge watching, is a detail. Even a true addict stops experiencing a high. All they end up doing is avoiding withdrawal.
Last edited by Parnassia; 01-27-2020 at 04:13 PM..
I have a list of things I need to accomplish. There is a daily list, weekly list, monthly list, yearly list...super annoying. Anyway, I take care of those as needed and then I binge watch.
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