There goes the weekend: understanding television binge-watching

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Date
2015
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University of Alabama Libraries
Abstract

Binge-watching, the act of consuming multiple episodes of a TV show in a short period of time, is changing the experience of watching television. The current study investigated how different methods and speeds of watching a TV show affected the media watching experience. In particular, this study sought to determine if binge-watching could affect the outcomes of media consumption, particularly (a) transportation into the narrative, (b) enjoyment, (c) narrative engagement, and (d) identification with the characters in the narrative. Personality traits may affect how a person experiences media content and this study investigated whether personality traits--such as transportability and fantasy empathy--can affect the relationships between binge-watching and the outcomes associated with narrative consumption. Additionally, individuals may have different levels of motivations--eudaimonic or hedonic--that could predict how a person likes to consume TV content, whether it is all at once via a binge, or, contrastingly, dispensed over a larger amount of time. Results indicated that both transportability and fantasy empathy were predictors of how a person will choose to watch TV, and that both outcomes of transportation and character identification were altered by the pace at which a person consumes a TV show, particularly when personality traits were taken into account. Narrative engagement was decreased when a person binge-watched old episodes of a TV show followed by new episodes as they came out, and enjoyment was dependent upon increased character identification. Eudaimonic motivations for entertainment consumption and age were also significant predictors of how a person would choose to watch a TV show. This study also discusses binge-watching as a part of the evolution of TV and the changing media environment that currently exists. Transportation theory is applied to binge-watching, integrating existing media communication theories into behaviors that result from new technology. Binge-watching is discussed in the context of society and content production, particularly how a new generation of TV watchers is utilizing the various types of content available to them to customize and personalize their TV content choices and experiences.

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Electronic Thesis or Dissertation
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Mass communication
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