Index IntroductionDefinition of binge-watchingFactors influencing binge-watching behaviorImplications of binge-watchingImpact of binge-watching on content creationThe influence of binge-watching on many industriesConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionThe Television is a major communications technology and a crucial element of the mass culture industry as it holds the power to alter the world and the culture that surrounds us. Therefore, it is significant to note how it has evolved over time as a consequence of eclectic factors responsible for its current state. Likewise, the impact it is having on various aspects of our lives is also noteworthy. The current state of television, multiplatform and without geographical borders, is characterized by a phenomenon called 'Binge Watching'. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Definition of Binge-Watching Binge-watching is defined as “long periods of focused, deliberate viewing of sequential television content that is generally narrative, suspenseful, and dramatic” (Rubenking, Campanella, 2018, p.382 ) Although the word "Binge" is associated with negative habits or addiction, an alternative representation of the term "binge watching" is also referred to a way of watching in which the viewer is completely engaged by the content and is having an engaging experience (Rubenking, et.al , 2018). Therefore, to avoid its negative connotations, this viewing behavior is also sometimes referred to as “marathon viewing” (Tukachinsky, Eyal, 2018). The origin of binge watching is the combination of an assortment of psychological and physical factors related to viewership, a change in technology that promotes non-traditional ways of interacting with television, and a significant change in content creation. This article will explore how these elements, through their interdependence, give rise to this new binge watching behavior. I will also examine the implications it is having on the traditional form of the television industry, on viewers and on the way media content is constructed. I will study only those changes in the technology of the television industry that affect binge watching and are responsible for eliminating all other transitions that have shaped television as it exists today. For starters, the availability of a television structure that allows complete autonomy over the way we watch. content and when we watch it makes the very phenomenon of binge watching possible (Mareike, 2016). Contemporary viewers are no longer bound by fixed programming patterns from broadcasting companies that limit their freedom to exercise control over television schedules. This change in the structure of the TV itself allows viewers to watch whatever they want without any obstacles in the flow of content. The freedom to have technological control over the content schedule is further strengthened by the transition of traditional TV towards a multiplatform that allows viewers to watch content without physical and geographical barriers (Steiner, Emil, Xu, Kun, 2018). Additionally, these platforms offer some built-in features that encourage viewers to binge watch. This can be illustrated by some tools that Netflix, one of the biggest examples of TV going multi-platform, offers to its viewers, such as the post play button and the release of complete seasons instead of individual episodes (Steiner, et.al, 2018). This technological convergence performs functions that develop an impulsive response in the viewer and persuade him to watchwithout stopping (Tukachinsky, et.al, 2018). Likewise, another way Netflix does this is through its various marketing strategies which in turn stimulate viewers for continued viewing. In a recent campaign called “My First Binge,” Netflix asked its subscribers to remember the first moment they watched a particular Netflix series (Prastien, 2019). As a result, the phenomenon of binge watching bombed, revealing huge figures on how much viewers binge-watched only because the platform allowed them due to its structure and technological advancement compared to the traditional form of television (Prastien, 2019) . Factors Influencing Binge-Watching Behavior Apart from this, several psychological factors come into play that convince viewers to watch in one sitting. Being part of the culture and cultural conversations is one of the main reasons why viewers binge on content. This is explained through the concept of FoMo (fear of missing out) which simply means being connected to what others are doing (Auverset, Billings, Conlin, 2016). The fear of missing out persuades people to be aware of and engage with pop cultural conversations, and watching the entire series in advance allows them to exercise control over those conversations. Steiner et al., (2018) argue that the main motivation behind binge watching is the viewer's desire to be part of a particular show's online cultural community so they can provide their own opinion about the show. Likewise, they consider these discussions to be culturally relevant as a large part of the public is engaged in them, which in turn makes binge watching and participation in such online discourses legitimate (Steiner, et.al, 2018). These cultural communities on each particular show allow viewers to create collective meaning and provide them with different perspectives on certain shows which further causes them to watch more and more episodes of that show. Matrix (2014) found that viewers binge-watch not only to take part in cultural discourses but also to make sense of the show through the crowdsourcing that comes from participating in such discourses. The recent transformation in content creation and the emergence of compelling narratives are altering how viewers react to stories and the characters within them. Tukachinsky et al., (2018) suggested that binge watching is strongly linked to the immersive experience with a narrative that detaches the viewer from reality and entices him to remain in the artificial reality by watching the episodes in rapid succession. Through this immersion, they tend to form parasocial relationships with the characters, and their desire to remain in these temporary relationships is further responsible for continued viewing (Tukachinsky, et al., 2018). Interestingly, content structure is so closely related to binge watching that even the smallest changes in this structure can have a huge impact on how people binge watch. These changes in the structure of narratives result in two forms of binge watching (Steiner, et.al, 2018). If the content is full of cliffhangers and requires more active engagement with the narrative, it results in high-attention bingeing, while low-attention bingeing involves less serialized and simple narratives (Steiner, et.al, 2018). Furthermore, the fear of being exposed to spoilers is another reason behind binge watching. To overcome this fear, Auverset et al., (2016) observes that people "binge-watch programs to keep up withnarrative and make sure that no one reduces the potential enjoyment of a program" (p.161). Implications of binge-watchingCertainly, binge watching arises for multiple reasons and each of them contributes to its existence both individually and in existence with other factors. However, these factors are undergoing continuous changes and reorganizations in response to the way binge watching is evolving as a phenomenon. Therefore, to analyze its current state, it is essential to establish the set of impacts it is having on each of them. Binge watching is considered responsible for the formation of platform addiction and the development of impulsive disorders in viewers. It shifts the viewer's conscious behavior from watching a show to impulsive and addiction-based behavior which in turn results in the formation of addiction. habit of binge-watching and staying on the video platform (Pattison, Dombrowski, Presseau, 2018). Trevis (2018) found that this impulsiveness in viewers convinces them to engage in activities without any consideration of the consequences. This can have serious repercussions on other important spheres of life and can lead to a sense of regret due to the goal conflict formed by binge-watching (Pattison, et.al, 2018). On the other hand, the way viewers are cognitively engaged in both commercials and the narrative itself has changed dramatically since the arrival of binge watching. Research by Schweidel & Moe (2016) suggests that viewers are becoming less responsive to advertising as they see them as an external reality that constitutes an obstacle to the artificial reality in which they are immersed due to binge watching. However, this complex cognitive engagement with narratives not only alters how advertisements are viewed, but is also responsible for the sense of loss and sadness when such engaging and sophisticated narratives end, exposing viewers to reality. As Smith (2014) rightly notes, addiction to binge watching can lead to a feeling of disappointment and physical sadness when the content is no longer accessible or available for further binging. Tukachinsky et al, (2018) also found that hedonic enjoyment at the beginning of the binge watching session is much greater than at the end of the session. Impact of Binge Watching on Content Creation As the practice of binge watching proliferates, content creators are becoming more careful about coordinating the structure of narratives with patterns of viewing behaviors. As can be observed, the timing of cliffhangers, reversals and conflicts in contemporary narratives is completely in accordance with viewers' binge watching habits, placed at the end of the story rather than sequentially (Bernardin, 2018). This in turn provides content authors more time and freedom to develop their characters in the story and integrate various character developments into the single narrative itself. Instead, binge watching is so dominant in the current form of TV that it requires content to be written exclusively for it. Placido (2017) notes how character develops completely differently in content written for binge-watchers and cinema viewers. In case of continuous viewing, character development is extremely slow under the assumption that the viewer will watch each episode to reveal more and more traits of its characters and remain immersed in the narrative (Placido, 2017). In contrast, cinematic content develops characters much faster and does not change characterizations significantly over the course of the story (Placido, 2017). Also, the bingewatching is forcing writers and content creators to write with single, extended story arcs rather than individual story arcs for each episode which was a common practice in the traditional television form (Steiner, et.al, 2018). This is also in line with the uninterrupted flow of content offered by the lack of television commercials, thanks to which the writers are aware that they can lengthen the narrative arc as long as the viewer is willing to watch the show in a continuous flow. With such rapid content consumption due to continuous episode viewing, producers face ongoing pressure to expand both the quality and quantity of content with enriching and diversifying narratives (Steiner, et.al, 2018). Steiner et al., (2018) found that producers are fully aware of which programs viewers are binge-watching and which are not, and such analysis helps them make decisions about what type of content to produce and when to release it. Binge The influence of watching on many sectorsFinally, binge watching is also bringing changes at an institutional level and restructuring the organization and elements of various sectors. Specifically, it has had a large-scale impact on the advertising industry, forcing it to find new ways to advertise without interrupting the narrative flow fostered by binge-watching. To demonstrate this, contemporary advertisements are not individual elements shown separately during the broadcast of the show but are incorporated into the content itself through various means such as the narrative setting or the brand of the actor's costume (Matrix, 2014). The purpose of this form of advertising is to make it “difficult or impossible for the public to distinguish television content from marketing” (Matrix, 2014, p.132). This form of advertising is becoming so effective in resolving the conflict between the coexistence of commercials and binge watching, that even the traditional form of television is incorporating this model to regain its hegemony. In particular, online TV box sets are the result of the binge watching phenomenon and the desire of viewers to maintain autonomy over their television schedules by allowing them to watch content without any restrictions (Barrie, 2017). Another area that has been affected by marathon viewing is public broadcasting. companies and channels run by governments with nationalistic and propagandistic motivations in mind. This can be best illustrated by what happened in Singapore after the emergence of Netflix and other online video platforms that brought with them the practice of binge watching (Tania, Azad, Marcus, 2019). The competition from such platforms was so fierce that it forced the government to introduce some policy changes and move to the commercial version of television with the launch of an online application (Tania, et.al, 2019). However, the contents of this new platform offered by the government were limited to those offered via cable TV, mainly oriented towards promoting national cultures (Tania, et.al, 2019). As citizens demanded diversity in content after being exposed to binge TV, this lack of diversity offered by the government was raising concerns among the public about the legitimacy of public broadcasting companies and their objectives (Tania, et.al, 2019). Therefore, it has become mandatory on the part of the government to eliminate a limited variety of content that focuses on the nationalistic goals of the government and incorporate other producers from around the world into the existing framework to meet the needs of citizens (Tania, et.al, 2019). Since these transformations are taking place in an unprecedented way, a bigger question arises as to how,, 62(1), 1-20.