BINGE WATCHING AND CLINICAL DEPRESSION- ONE HARBINGER FOR ANOTHER?

Television is one of our most preferred forms of entertainment. Due to the emergence of smartphones and online streaming platforms television is now in our hands and pockets constantly. Depression may be positively related to television viewing affinity. Individuals higher in depression were more likely to binge- watch television shows out of comfort seeking. It also seemed possible that individuals who had higher in depression lack the motivation or cognitive energy to resist the auto- play functions of streaming products. Viewers tend to binge watch more in order to forget temporarily about every day life stress due to work and social life that are the hallmark of many depressive episodes.Still ,the cause and effect relationship could not be established properly;it is not known whether the depressed people tend to binge-watch more for the reasons mentioned or the binge watching leads to depression. It is therefore reasonable to conclude that both depression and binge watching in many ways can be prelude for the other. So, it is plausible to conduct further studies on pathophysiology of binge watching and depression and to find the core behind the link between them. KEYWORDS: Binge-watching, Depression, Smart phones