THE BINGE WATCHING CONTINUUM: FROM LEISURE ACTIVITY TO ADDICTION

Binge-watching (BW) refers to a new vision pa!ern of TV contents, characterized by the consecutive viewing of three or more episodes of the same series in one si!ing. Although some negative e#ects on mental health were evidenced, no clear di#erentiation between BW as a leisure activity and problematic behavior was highlighted. "is study aimed to verify and deepen the psychological characteristics of di#erent approaches to the vision of TV series). Data from 482 respondents (age:18-35) were collected via online survey using self-administered questionnaires evaluating Binge Watching Addictive behavior, trait and social anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation. Participants were divided into Problematic BW, Moderate BW, Non-BW, and No-viewer, and di#erences between groups were tested for each psychological variable. An association between problematic BW and mental health was evidenced. In particular, people with problematic BW showed a worse mental pro$le. Interesting, positive e#ects of no problematic BW were partially evidenced. Moreover, a sort of continuum characterized by a negative linear trend from the BW as a leisure activity to problematic BW was marked, indicating a possible maladaptive behavior orientation as an addiction disorder.