With the release of one of my favorite shows, "Orange is the New Black", I find myself preparing to watch the new season in one day and end up hating myself for it as I wait a year for a new season. This opens up an interesting type of debate regarding television viewing. Which is better: to binge watch a TV show, like on Netflix or Hulu, or stick to watching the show how it was intended to be watched, which would be week-by-week as new episodes air.
Some say it depends on the TV show, such as if it is emotionally draining to watch all at once like "Breaking Bad," yet others can't get enough of the drama on shows like "Gossip Girl." Does it depend on the television show or the viewer's personality?
I, for one, have an addictive personality when it comes to TV shows. If I love a show upon watching the first episode, I'll end up finishing it like that.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons for binge-watching TV or watching it week-to-week.
Binge Watching
Pros:
Good for one sitting if nothing really happens in the show, such as waiting for a romance to develop in "The Office," so you aren't disappointed in wasting a night with one episode.
If you have a lot of time on your hands or are procrastinating, it is also good so you don't have to wait.
You get to the end of a show sooner and are satisfied quicker with it.
Cons:
The show is over sooner, leaving you hanging and/or looking for something new to binge watch.
You don't have something to look forward to when it gets to Wednesday night.
You might get a headache from watching too many hours of TV in one sitting.
Your friends/family/loved ones might think something bad happened to you if you disappear for hours to binge-watch.
You might come across spoilers if you're not caught up with a show that aired on ABC that is now on Hulu.
Week-to-Week:
Pros:
The suspense is 100x more enjoyable, if you're into that.
You don't have to keep restarting the show when you finish it either.
Good for those of you that get bored easily/hate doing the same thing for too long.
Good if you have time to spare.
You also get to watch it as it airs, instead of waiting for it to come on Netflix and be out of the loop!
Cons:
20 minutes of a show may not be satisfying enough for you.
COMMERCIALS.
You can't pause it to get up for a snack or to pee.
Cliffhangers are nerve-wracking, especially when the show isn't finished airing and you have no way of finding out what happens next.
I can throw my two cents in, but when it comes to how TV shows should be viewed, it all comes down to you: what you watch, the genre of the show, how developed it is, how you react to the show, which medium you use to watch it, your schedule, and your personality and opinion.
