TASK 1

THE MEDIA
 Binge-watching:
how the hungry habit is transforming TV
H”ave you aver wastod a sunny day indoors with
curtaina closed, watching your favourite drama series
for hours on andf. Or gona to bad way too late because”
you Asd tO watCh just one more' epiaodel If so, you're
not alone. ’Binge- watching'”- watching several
episadse.of a ahow at a time.
- is oo the rise. According to a recent , in which
over 15,OOO paopie wdre aakad abou”t thairTV viewing
had“rts, 91% said they irequently binge-watched and:
40% said that they had binge-watcr ed B 8hOW thb
IOU9 WB0k.
When asked why they binge-watched, respondents said
it” was because they feh social pressure to be up to
dale with the.story. Some said watchlng severa!.ep!
sode”s
makes it easter to follow the sometimes ver
storylines. Dramas were the most binge-watché”d
shows, followed by sit”coms, reality shows and news
programmes.

*The couch potato has roken up.’

New techñoiogie9, sucb ae DVR (dighal video recorders)

and streaming, have s our viewing habits, us
to watch what 'e want, when and wherb we want, all of
th|s without the annoying dlstfactloniof Cost
! :alsa a.factor,. with 'a monthly subscription to N.etfllx
costing ”just.a fractio”D of a DVD. &x sa.
The survey aI9o an interesting. 9hift in opinion.Jz›wards
.binge-watchiñ”g. When respon”d”entswere asked whether they
thought Ing agatlve thlnB only one-third said
bng’ w
- k d hs
majority oe plee -that) *side d‘rt a b take'
ThtB” more positñ/.e.attitude towards TV viewing may b”e.b”ecause
oftha improved.quaIñy of the dramas. In tile past, TV dramas
were seen as cult”uraIIy inferior to, cay, the novel. This is no
longer true. Social anthropologist Grant McCrackan, who was
involved in the research, says we watch TV differently now.
Ih the past, binge”viewers.were krown, disapprovingly,
as ‘couch potatoes’ who spem hours and hours watching.
T”V very psssiv@, Now, however, since people are actively
choosing whatthe” y” watch, they watch with more purpose.
He says”that younger viewers, especiélly, watch more
critically, frequently commenting on the quality of th.e
acting, the ca”sting, the camera angles. He bellevas the
couch potato has woken up.

• binga tobotoo much of somethingyouenjoy, especially

eating. singe-uetch firstentereb the Dxford Dictionary in
201a
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