Age of Binging

It’s the era of the binge generation.
Translated from Mark Noorman (Volkskrant)

Research topics at the end of the post

Article

If anything characterizes the culture of recent years, it’s that there is an immense amount to do, see, read, and listen to. This leads to a new kind of guilt. Time for a different strategy. It’s the era of the binge generation. On the cover of the reference work are two familiar figures, and I don’t need a second to think about their names: Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. In the background, their camper/meth lab is parked in the desert outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. Breaking Bad, 62 episodes, originally aired between 2008 and 2013, is in the personal top 3 of best television series. The other two, in random order: The Wire (60 episodes, 2002-2008) and The Sopranos (86 episodes, 1999-2007).The thick book is titled “1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You Die,” the latest in a long-running series that aims to put the reader on the trail of books, cities, music, films, and other things for which time is lacking. The addition of “before you die” gives it a “carpe diem” twist. Quito, Ecuador, why not? The Apu trilogy by Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, give it a chance!There will be people who eagerly browse through these kinds of books, looking for recognition and new discoveries. Not me; I, glass half empty, become somewhat dejected by it. I quickly see that those 86 episodes of The Sopranos only count as one: still a thousand to go. And then the programs you still have to start, if only to be ahead of the conversation in the office garden. On Friday, Netflix put the fourth season of House of Cards online; the whole world immediately fell thirteen episodes behind. Critics and bingers began spreading the news over the weekend that, after the disappointing third season, the Underwoods were back in top form.Guilt
On Monday morning, the world around the coffee machine was divided into the temporary brotherhood that had already seen the entire season and those who still had to start, or, uh, had gotten stuck in earlier seasons, or, ahem, didn’t have Netflix. And then you have those other lists. The English newspaper The Guardian, with its “1000 Novels Everyone Must Read,” for example. Books! Oh, yes! (Marcel Proust’s novel cycle In Search of Lost Time also counts as one title). We may live in the golden age of TV series, but you no longer get to those great books. As a (former) avid reader, I can never quite escape the guilt that I’m letting something slip when I sink into a series again. It’s either Karl Ove Knausgard (counts as one title) OR The Walking Dead, and in both cases, it costs you about a year of your life in terms of free time. Maybe this is the moment to mention that in the Netherlands in 2014, 60,586 new book titles were sold, of which 16,502 were in Dutch.Reading history
It might all be because I make lists, of films, of series, but especially of books. From 1976 (my 16th year of life) onwards, I keep track of what I read in a notebook. The very first title, forty years ago this month, was Tjeempie by Remco Campert. Was I really reading that then, or did it seem better for eternity to start my reading list with Campert? I don’t rule out the latter. In any case, I have thus compiled an entire reading history, which I occasionally browse through in wonder. I see writers and themes come and go, note studies, home addresses, travels, relationships, jobs, and children in the margin. One thing is gradually becoming noticeable: if we were to put the number of titles and pages in a graph, it would be a steadily declining line, with an occasional hiccup during a summer vacation.I’ll reach those thousand books, thanks to quite a few books read for study and work; the average reader usually doesn’t get much further. Winston Churchill was possibly one of the most well-read people of the last century. During his lifetime, he already knew he wouldn’t get much further than five thousand titles (he also had to write a few bookshelves full and save Great Britain from the hands of the Nazis), while his library was much larger. “If you cannot read all your books, fondle them, peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, put them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them at any rate be your acquaintances.” Thus Churchill on the unread book.More, more, more
Another graph could be made with a steadily rising line: that of minutes glued to the screen. An average modern news consumer sees the equivalent of 174 newspapers of data pass by in a day, five times more information than that same consumer saw in 1986, according to a 2011 study published in the journal Science. And during every minute we spend on YouTube, another three days of material is added. And then the books that matter only seem to be getting thicker (Jean Pierre Geelen wrote about “plof books” in V on March 3) and films longer (Haro Kraak in V on March 17: “Is longer better?”). Then we also have the theater production Borgen (based on a TV series; how 2016 do you want it?), which takes ten hours. And in the music world, it’s also increasingly going in that direction. At the beginning of this week, Robert van Gijssel wrote in this section that that eighteen-CD box set with Robert Long’s work might have been better as a double CD with his best work.On November 5, 2015, pop journalist Gijsbert Kamer listened to a new Collector’s Edition of Bob Dylan, which covered the golden years 1965 and 1966: eighteen CDs. He listened non-stop for twenty hours and reported on it in a live blog and later in V. Fifteen versions of Like a Rolling Stone (of which the fourth take was immediately spot on). Nice to read, that blog, but who will follow Kamer’s example? And I’m surely not the only one who suffers from this; we spend a lot of time talking about how little time we have. “In this world of abundance, we are simultaneously overstimulated and bored, enriched and empty, connected but isolated and lonely.” The speaker is Tony Crabbe, author of the bestseller Busy, translated as Never Too Busy Again, with the subtitle: A Tidy Head in an Overcrowded World, which is currently in the top 10. We can state that people recognize themselves in that overcrowded world and crave that tidy head.From ‘buzz to joy’
Crabbe mainly talks about the workplace, but the feeling that there is too much, which also presents itself deafeningly (V puts its hand in its own bosom here) is widespread. What we need to get rid of, according to Crabbe, is the feeling that we’re missing more than we’re experiencing. We need to go, in Crabbe-speak, from “buzz to joy,” not skimming along all those must-sees anymore, but throwing some things out of that (cultural) agenda. And then take a very long time over a thin book. Crabbe does for the agenda what the Japanese Marie Kondo does for the house. Tidied Up! is the title of her bestseller. Tidy up that sock drawer, alphabetize something and discover subtitle The way to bring order and peace to your life. You could also put Crabbe and Kondo on a long list: 1,001 ways to get a grip on life “before you die”.Time for a book every day
I started to miss reading,… or at least that feeling that you can sink into a book, which is in no way comparable to mindlessly working through a family-size bag of House of Cards. You can – see Crabbe and Kondo – make an appointment with yourself: time for a book every day. Dare to put a book aside (the relief that I was allowed to throw The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton in the corner speaking of plof books). Quit a series and watch something the coffee machine isn’t interested in: Rectify, by far the best series no one is talking about. Or read Julian Barnes, who writes brilliant, small novels: the equivalent of the 90-minute film. Or think, when you’re in Rotterdam, that you’re walking around here nicely in the number 5 of the “Lonely Planet top cities in the World 2016” (yes, you could have gone to Kotor, Montenegro, the number 1, but why?). Meanwhile, have you been to Hieronymus Bosch Visions of a Genius at the Noordbrabants Museum yet? Five stars in this and every newspaper. Once in a lifetime, the critics said, “exhibition of the century”. So, what are you waiting for?

Thematic Analysis

Information Overload and Media Consumption

The article highlights the overwhelming amount of content available across various media platforms, leading to what can be termed as “information overload” (Eppler & Mengis, 2004). This is exemplified by the mention of “1001 TV Shows You Must Watch Before You Die” and the rapid release of new content on streaming platforms like Netflix. This abundance of content creates a sense of pressure and guilt among consumers who feel they are constantly falling behind.Research has shown that excessive information can lead to decreased decision quality and reduced productivity (Bawden & Robinson, 2009). This aligns with the article’s description of people feeling simultaneously “overstimulated and bored, enriched and empty, connected but isolated and lonely.”

Time Scarcity and Cultural FOMO

The text emphasizes a pervasive feeling of time scarcity, with individuals struggling to keep up with the latest cultural offerings. This phenomenon can be linked to the concept of “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) in the cultural sphere (Przybylski et al., 2013). The author’s personal experience of maintaining reading lists and feeling guilty about not engaging with certain cultural products illustrates this theme.

Shift in Media Consumption Habits

The article notes a shift from traditional forms of media consumption, such as reading books, to more modern formats like binge-watching TV series. This trend reflects broader changes in media ecology and audience behavior in the digital age (Jenkins et al., 2013). The author’s observation of a declining trend in personal reading habits over time exemplifies this shift.

Cultural Abundance and Choice Paralysis

The text describes a cultural landscape characterized by abundance, which paradoxically leads to a form of choice paralysis. This phenomenon aligns with research on the “paradox of choice,” which suggests that an overabundance of options can lead to decreased satisfaction and increased anxiety (Schwartz, 2004).

Quest for Balance and Mindfulness

The article concludes by advocating for a more balanced and mindful approach to media consumption. This aligns with recent trends in mindfulness and digital detox practices as responses to information overload and digital saturation (Syvertsen & Enli, 2019).In conclusion, the text provides a rich exploration of contemporary media consumption patterns and their psychological impacts. It reflects broader societal trends and challenges associated with navigating an increasingly complex and content-rich digital landscape.

References:

Bawden, D., & Robinson, L. (2009). The dark side of information: Overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies. Journal of Information Science, 35(2), 180-191.
Eppler, M. J., & Mengis, J. (2004). The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines. The Information Society, 20(5), 325-344.
Jenkins, H., Ford, S., & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable media: Creating value and meaning in a networked culture. NYU Press.
Przybylski, A. K., Murayama, K., DeHaan, C. R., & Gladwell, V. (2013). Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1841-1848.
Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less.
Harper Collins.Syvertsen, T., & Enli, G. (2019). Digital detox: Media resistance and the promise of authenticity. Convergence, 25(4), 714-729.

Research Suggestions

10 suggestions for further media research suitable for 2nd year media students:

1. Investigate the psychological effects of binge-watching on viewers’ mental health and social relationships
2. Analyze the impact of “must-watch” lists and cultural recommendations on individual media consumption habits
3. Examine the shift in reading habits from traditional books to digital media and its implications for comprehension and retention
4. Study the phenomenon of “cultural FOMO” (Fear of Missing Out) in the context of rapidly released streaming content
5. Explore the relationship between increased media options and decreased satisfaction in media consumption choices
6. Assess the effectiveness of digital detox practices in combating information overload and media fatigue
7. Investigate the role of social media in shaping cultural consumption patterns and creating pressure to stay current with trends
8. Compare the cognitive processing of long-form content (e.g., book series) versus episodic content (e.g., TV series) in the digital age
9. Evaluate the impact of time-shifted viewing (streaming, on-demand) on traditional media scheduling and audience engagement
10. Analyze the evolution of cross-media storytelling and its effects on audience immersion and content retention