By now, more than a week after the release of Season 2 of Netflix’s fictional political drama House of Cards, millions of viewers around the world have watched one or more episodes of the hit show starring Kevin Spacey.
But for many Netflix watchers, the viewing has been more than casual. Internet data recently compiled by technology firm Procera Networks indicates that fans of House of Cards are bingeing on multiple episodes –– gobbling up one installment of the political drama after another in marathon viewing sessions. Some diehards admit to having watched all 13 episodes within a day of the season’s release on February 14, 2014.
While House of Cards is unique because its first two seasons have been released in their entirety, other programs such as Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Sherlock, and Arrested Development also have spawned obsessive viewing habits.
What’s going on here? Are these shows simply that good? Is this a sign of our culture’s increasing need to have and know everything instantly? Is Netflix creating a generation of video-streaming zombies?
We asked College of Charleston professors from different academic disciplines to weigh in on the phenomenon of Netflix bingeing. Their insights reveal that television viewing in the technology age has become a complex arrangement of factors that includes basic human desire, the business of data collection, and the quest for special experiences.
Ryan Milner is an assistant professor of communication whose research explores the social, political, and cultural implications of mass connection. He says the motivation to binge on Netflix, Hulu or other streaming services helps fulfill a desire to interact socially with others and to have shared experiences.
Ryan Milner, Assistant Professor of Communication
“We can get caught up on Breaking Bad after season four because all our friends love Breaking Bad, and then we can watch season five live with them. When everyone we know is digging Game of Thrones or House of Cards, we can be a part of the conversation because we’ve got access to the catalog.”
[Related: Does House of Cards present a realistic portrayal of Congress?]
Milner says television shows have long served as a common experience around which people can engage. Decades before video could be streamed online, fans of shows like Dr. Who and Star Trek recorded and shared shows by sending them through the mail.
Hector Qirko, assistant professor of anthropology, says other factors that may contribute to bingeing include the need for control and a desire to seek out special experiences.
“I haven’t looked at this specifically, but my guess is that bingeing is not about laziness, or instant gratification, or even harmless release, but something more important,” Qirko says. “One issue is control, and certainly negotiations between producers and consumers over who runs the show go back at least to the VCR. Consumers want to be more and more in charge of when and how to watch, as well as to control, if not avoid, commercials.”
Another factor that Qirko identifies is the notion of specialness –– the idea that Netflix bingeing provides a non-ordinary escape in the same way that the tradition of going to the movies offers a special experience.
“Maybe the time it takes for the typical bingeing of three or four episodes of a series is significant,” Qirko says. “That’s about the time it takes not to watch a movie but to go to it –– drive to the theater, get the popcorn, watch previews and then the main feature –– all of which makes it special.”
Hector Qirko, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Recent news articles examining Netflix’s sophisticated data collection and analytics capabilities make clear that the success of House of Cards was not entirely the result of lucky guesses. Netflix collects and analyzes information about its subscribers’ tastes and viewing habits and uses that information to invest in or create shows that have a better likelihood of becoming hits.
[Related: A reporter goes behind the scenes at Netflix for the House of Cards launch.]
Paul Anderson, a professor of computer science and director of the College’s data science program, says data mining, analytics, and computational intelligence are deeply embedded in our technology-driven culture. As a result, we should no longer be surprised that companies are becoming adept at predicting what products will resonate with consumers.
“Companies from Lowes to Facebook are tracking our actions and behaviors,” Anderson says. “The general rule of thumb is that if you are not paying for a service, then you are the product.”
The same science and technology that helps a company like Netflix create a wildly popular show is also making the world a better place, Anderson says. “It is changing how we do business, but it is also changing medicine, environmental science, conservation, and many more fields. Everything from smarter power to personalized medicine has benefited and will continue to benefit from analytics and data mining.”
But just as the world needs people to create and advance technology for the betterment of society, it also needs people to study the impacts of that technology, Anderson says. “It is what makes an institution like the College of Charleston with its liberal arts and science focus so important.”
Paul Anderson, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the College’s Data Science Program
Milner, who admits to being a binge viewer, believes some shows are actually better when watched in quick succession than when consumed over a period of many weeks because the arc of the story can be better appreciated.
But there may be a dark side to having the whole story available at the click of a button. After Milner and his daughter recently watched the three original Star Wars movies back-to-back, he realized that binge watching could diminish the sense of suspense and anticipation that cliffhangers provided when movies like Star Wars dripped out one installment every few years.
“Cliffhangers that gripped original viewers for months and years were solved for us in hours,” Milner says. “I felt like I was dishonoring the drama of Vader’s big reveal.”
