Toward a Qualitative Understanding of Binge-Watching Behaviors: A Focus Group Approach

Background and aims: Binge-watching (i.e., seeing multiple episodes of the same TV series
in a row) now constitutes a widespread phenomenon. However, little is known about the
psychological factors underlying this behavior, as reflected by the paucity of available studies,
most merely focusing on its potential harmfulness by applying the classic criteria used for
other addictive disorders without exploring the uniqueness of binge-watching. The present
study thus aimed to take the opposite approach as a first step toward a genuine understanding
of binge-watching behaviors through a qualitative analysis of the phenomenological
characteristics of TV series watching. Methods: A focus group of regular TV series viewers
(N=7) was established to explore a wide range of aspects related to TV series watching (e.g.,
motives, viewing practices, related behaviors). Results: A content analysis identified bingewatching
features across three dimensions: TV series watching motivations, TV series
watching engagement, and structural characteristics of TV shows. Most participants
acknowledged that TV series watching can become addictive, but they all agreed having
trouble recognizing themselves as truly being an “addict.” Although obvious connections
could be established with substance addiction criteria and symptoms, such parallelism
appeared to be insufficient, as several distinctive facets emerged (e.g., positive view, transient
overinvolvement, context dependency, low everyday life impact). Discussion and
conclusions: Research should go beyond the classic biomedical and psychological models of
addictive behaviors to account for binge-watching in order to explore its specificities and
generate first steps toward an adequate theoretical rationale for these emerging problematic
behaviors.