# Binge Watching > Binge-watching is a 2011 cultural practice of consuming multiple TV episodes in one sitting, popularized by Netflix and immortalized in memes about sleep deprivation, canceled plans, and guilty pleasure. Binge-watching is the practice of consuming multiple episodes of a TV show in one sitting, a habit that exploded in popularity alongside streaming services like Netflix and Hulu in the early 2010s[5]. The term, a snowclone of "binge drinking," went from niche DVD-collector slang to mainstream vocabulary by 2013, when Netflix declared it "the new normal"[2]. Online, binge-watching spawned endless memes about sleep deprivation, canceled plans, and the guilty pleasure of plowing through an entire season in a weekend. ## Origin The word "binge" was first applied to television viewing as early as 1948, when Variety reporter George Rosen used it in coverage of the TV industry[5]. The term "TV binge" appeared in a U.S. newspaper on July 27, 1952, in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where sports editor Ed Danforth described a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby telethon[5]. For decades, "TV binge" and "TV marathon" were used interchangeably and mostly referred to watching extended sporting events. The Oxford English Dictionary traces "binge-watching" as a compound term to 1990s TV fandom circles, when shows first started getting released as complete DVD box sets[4]. The first printed use of "binge viewing" appeared in a December 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer column by TV critic Andy Wickstrom, who suggested Scotch tape to mend worn VCR tape for those saving up soap operas for "weekend binge viewing"[5]. The first known use of "binge-watching" as an active verb came from GregSerl, an X-Files Usenet newsgroup commenter, who posted a mock questionnaire on December 20, 1998, asking fans: "Do you ever binge watch (marathon)?"[5]. - **Platform:** TV DVD fandom (term origin), Netflix / streaming culture (mainstream spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (organic cultural adoption); Netflix and Harris Interactive (popularized through 2013 survey) - **Date:** 1990s (term); 2011-2013 (viral spread) ## Overview Binge-watching refers to watching several episodes of a TV series back-to-back, usually in a single sitting or over a compressed time period. Most people define it as consuming between two and six episodes at once, according to a 2014 Netflix survey where 73% of respondents agreed on that range[2]. The practice took off when streaming platforms made full seasons available on demand, replacing the old model of waiting a week between episodes[5]. The meme side of binge-watching lives in the relatable humor of ignoring responsibilities, staying up until 3 AM, and telling yourself "just one more episode." It shows up across social media as reaction images, confession posts, and self-deprecating jokes about choosing Netflix over sleep, exercise, or human interaction[6]. ## How It Spread By 2011, binge-watching was already common enough on college campuses that the Washington Post ran a piece describing how the practice was transforming student viewing habits[4]. In July 2012, Slate writer Jim Pagels called binge-watching "a pandemic" afflicting college students, arguing that marathon sessions destroyed the integrity of individual episodes and erased the pleasure of weekly cliffhangers[1]. Pagels made the case that TV characters "should be a regular part of our lives, not someone we hang out with 24/7 for a few days and then never see again"[1]. The real tipping point came in late 2013. Netflix commissioned a survey through Harris Interactive of nearly 1,500 TV streamers and found that 61% binge-watched regularly[2]. Cultural anthropologist Grant McCracken, who partnered with Netflix on the research, went into viewers' living rooms across the U.S. and Canada and concluded that "a perfect storm of better TV, our current economic climate and the digital explosion" had fueled the behavior[2]. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos used the findings to argue that their original series were "created for multi-episodic viewing"[2]. The term "binge-watch" was runner-up for word of the year in 2013, and in November 2015, Collins English Dictionary chose it as the actual word of the year[5]. Wired Magazine launched a weekly "Binge-Watching Guide" in September 2014[4], and Entertainment Weekly regularly polled celebrities on their binge habits[3]. At a 2015 EW/People Upfronts party, stars from Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, and How to Get Away With Murder freely confessed their binge-watching habits, with Patricia Heaton admitting Breaking Bad kept her "up until 3 in the morning"[3]. Social media mentions of binge-watching spiked predictably around Netflix releases. As of mid-2015, the largest single-day peak occurred during the surprise drop of Orange Is the New Black, when the term was tweeted more than 15,000 times in one day[4]. ## How to Use Binge-watching memes typically follow a few common formats: 1. **The confession post:** "Me saying 'just one more episode' at 4 AM" paired with a tired or crazed-looking reaction image 2. **The canceled plans meme:** A choice or distraction format (like the Distracted Boyfriend or Drake template) where a new Netflix season beats out social obligations 3. **The time-warp joke:** Posts about starting a show on Friday night and emerging on Sunday with no memory of the weekend 4. **The sleep deprivation flex:** Screenshots or descriptions of binge sessions with captions like "I watched all 8 seasons in two weeks"[1] 5. **The defense post:** Pushing back against anyone who says binge-watching is unhealthy, often citing the Netflix stat that 73% of streamers feel positive about it[2] ## Cultural Impact Netflix weaponized the term more effectively than any other brand. Their December 2013 "Binge Watching is the New Normal" campaign, backed by the Harris Interactive survey, turned a viewer behavior into a marketing strategy[2]. By releasing entire seasons at once, Netflix designed its original series specifically for binge consumption, with Ted Sarandos calling it "lining up the content with new norms of viewer control for the first time"[2]. The term's linguistic journey was significant on its own. Collins English Dictionary named "binge-watch" its 2015 word of the year[5], and the Oxford English Dictionary formalized the term with origins traced to 1990s fandom[4]. This gave academic and cultural legitimacy to what had been dismissed as lazy behavior. The advertising industry had to adapt. Traditional TV commercials became less effective when viewers consumed entire seasons without commercial breaks[8]. Brands shifted toward product placement within shows and influencer marketing on social media to reach binge-watchers[8]. Binge-watching also changed how shows are written. Creators began designing narratives for continuous viewing: fewer "previously on" recaps, more serialized arcs, more cliffhangers designed to trigger the "next episode" autoplay[9]. Streaming platforms engineered their interfaces to keep viewers on the platform, from autoplay features to immediate recommendation screens after a show ends[9]. ## Fun Facts - The first person known to use "binge-watching" as a verb was an X-Files fan on Usenet in December 1998[5] - Japan's Weekly Shōnen Jump pioneered the binge-consumption model decades before Netflix, releasing manga chapters weekly then compiling them into volumes readers could devour at once[5] - Netflix data shows the average viewer completes their first binge in just three days[7] - In a 2013 survey, 73% of streamers defined binge-watching as 2-6 episodes in one sitting, not the all-day marathon most people assume[2] - Netflix CEO Reed Hastings publicly stated that Netflix's main competitor is sleep, not other streaming services[9] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is binge-watching? Binge-watching is the practice of watching multiple episodes of a TV show in one sitting or over a compressed period. A 2014 Netflix survey found 73% of people define it as watching 2-6 episodes at once[2]. ### Where did binge-watching come from? The term evolved from "binge drinking" as a snowclone. The Oxford English Dictionary traces its use to 1990s TV DVD fandom circles[4], though "TV binge" appeared in print as early as 1952[5]. ### What does binge-watching mean? It means consuming several episodes of a show in rapid succession rather than spacing them out on a weekly schedule. The cultural connotation ranges from guilty pleasure to a normal way of enjoying TV, with 73% of Netflix streamers reporting positive feelings about it[2]. ### How do you use binge-watching in a meme? Binge-watching memes typically pair a relatable confession about losing sleep or canceling plans with reaction images or template formats. The humor comes from specificity: naming the show, episode count, and time of night[1]. ### Is binge-watching still popular? Binge-watching peaked as a cultural talking point between 2013 and 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a massive surge in the practice[5]. The term itself is now standard vocabulary rather than a trending meme topic, making it a classic piece of internet-era language. ### Who coined the term binge-watching? No single person coined it. The earliest known use of "binge-watching" as a verb came from GregSerl on an X-Files Usenet group on December 20, 1998[5]. The related "binge viewing" appeared in a 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer column by TV critic Andy Wickstrom[5]. ### Is binge-watching bad for you? Research suggests potential downsides. A 2015 University of Texas study linked binge-watching to depression and loneliness among 18-29 year olds[11]. A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found binge-watchers averaged 3 hours and 8 minutes of daily watch time and reported poorer sleep quality[9]. ### When did Netflix start promoting binge-watching? Netflix formally embraced the concept in December 2013 with a Harris Interactive survey of 1,500 streamers that found 61% binged regularly[2]. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said their original series were "created for multi-episodic viewing"[2]. ### What was the first show people binge-watched on Netflix? According to Netflix's own data, the most popular first-binge shows were Orange Is the New Black, Breaking Bad, and The Walking Dead, in that order[7]. ### Did binge-watching win any word-of-the-year awards? Yes. "Binge-watch" was named Collins English Dictionary's word of the year in November 2015[5]. It was also a runner-up for word of the year in 2013[5]. ### What do celebrities binge-watch? At a 2015 Entertainment Weekly/People Upfronts party, TV stars named Bloodline, Veep, and The Jinx as favorites[3]. Patricia Heaton binged Breaking Bad, Sophia Bush binged Orphan Black, and Ken Jeong binged The Walking Dead[3]. ### How did binge-watching change TV writing? Critics argue it blurred the integrity of individual episodes. Slate's Jim Pagels wrote in 2012 that cliffhangers "need time to breathe" and that binge-watching reduces the potential for deep, long-term relationships with TV characters[1]. ## References 1. [Binge-watching TV: Why you need to stop.]() 2. [Netflix Declares Binge Watching is the New Normal]() 3. [Stars confess: Here's what I'm binge-watching]() 4. [Binge-Watching - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Binge-watching]() 6. [Binge-Watching - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [New Data From Netflix Reveals Your Binge-Watching Habits]() 8. [The Rise of TV Binge-Watching: How it's Changing Society - Ask.com]() 9. [Is Binge Watching TV Good Or Bad For You? » ScienceABC]() 10. [Binge Watching: 5 Alarming Ways It Affects You]() 11. [Netflix Declares Binge Watching is the New Normal]() 12. [Binge-watching TV: Why you need to stop.]() 13. [Science Has Bad News for People Who Binge-Watch TV Shows]() 14. ['Veep,' 'Bloodline,' and more of what TV stars are binge-watching]() 15. [Karl Puschmann: The emptiness of binge watching - NZ Herald]() 16. [Binge-Watching Guide | Latest News, Photos & Videos | WIRED]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/binge-watching Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library