Ejercicio Grupo B - 2 · Inglés PAU Canarias Junio (Ciencias) 2021

Is Binge Watching TV Good Or Bad For You?

The word ‘binge’ entered our vocabulary to describe anything being consumed or performed in ongoing excess. So, ‘binge-watching’ entered our lexicon to refer to the practice of watching several episodes of a television series or movie programme, one after another.

While people spend more time than ever binge-watching, with streaming services bringing endless content to the tips of our fingers, I can’t help wondering if this way of consuming television does us any good.

Binge-watching, like gambling or other addictions, produces a continuous flow of dopamine —a chemical (known as the “happy” hormone) responsible for making us feel pleasure — in our brains. The problem is that, over time, our brains produce less dopamine from the same level of activity. So it takes more and more of the same activity to give us pleasure.

We are advised to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Obviously, staying up to watch an entire season of “Game of Thrones” in one sitting will not result in 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. The quantity of sleep we get is important, but quality matters too and heavy binge watchers are found to have poorer sleep quality. Consequently, those who binge TV do not get adequate sleep.

Research has concluded that too much TV might put both children and adults at risk of obesity. The more time we spend in front of the TV, the less we are exercising, walking, or just moving our muscles. The weight risk worsens when we consider that most people’s lives are already quite sedentary.

Although there is growing evidence that bingeing is not good for us, binge-watching occasionally might have some benefits. According to a study, cortisol levels (our body’s main stress hormone) decrease during bingeing. A few hours of “Friends” —still one of the most popular series on any streaming platform— can help people relax or de-stress. Bingeing is also a social activity for many people as it gives them something to talk about, online or offline.

With bingeing, there is not an objective “good” or “bad” answer. Like many things, the key is moderation. Though it is easy to slip into cycles of chronic watching, there are plenty of ways to come out of it. We can set an alarm or simply turn off the auto-play feature. Researchers have even asked streaming platforms to display a warning to users after a certain number of episodes have been binged.

All things considered, the outcry over binge-watching seems less important when compared to many of the other problems in the world at the moment. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to watching the latest season of “ Bojack Horseman ”.

Fragment adapted from Science ABC, October 2020

2. ANSWER the questions below. COPY no more than 10 words and/or a number from the text to answer each question. (1.5 points)

a)

What does the writer ask herself about binge-watching?

b)

How does binge-watching affect our sleep?

c)

What is one of the health benefits of binge-watching?