Before the online streaming era, viewers used to watch television episodes as singles. However,
due to technological advancements in the late 20th Century, streaming actualised viewers’ ability

to watch multiple scenes in a solitary sitting. Today, most viewers prefer watching several
television programme episodes in a solitary sitting. The viewing of more than two episodes
consecutively is colloquially termed binge-watching. The motivators for binge-watching include
the need to escape one’s realities, crave for relaxation, the need for companionship,
entertainment, and boredom. The motivators of binge-watching differ according to the needs of
respective viewers. For example, a lonely person will watch multiple television episodes due to
boredom or the need for companionship. In contrast, a depressed person may watch multiple
episodes to escape from the realities of his or her melancholic life. However, even though binge￾watching helps most viewers to escape their realities and overcome boredom; it comes with
effects which most scholars attribute to the addiction to watching and the abstract delusional
relationship created between the fictional characters and the viewers. Impacts of binge-watching
include mental health problems and negative effects on the cognitive function of viewers. Three
theories explain television watching and its effects. The theories are the gratification theory, the
mood management theory, and the cultivation theory. Binge-watching is a habit that continues to
have effects on the contemporary world of television entertainment. This paper presents a
literature review on the behavioural impacts of binge-watching and its sociocultural effect on
millennials. Also, this literature review highlights the motivators attributed to binge-watching while
discoursing on the three aforementioned theoretical frameworks.

A study conducted by Edelman (2013) illustrates that more than 88% of consumers resort to
watching more than one episode of a TV show at a time. This displays that 4 out of every 5
individual does not practise traditional linear consumption of media. Media houses like Netflix and
Amazon are repositioning themselves as content producers and distributors since the audiences
are consuming television at an accelerated pace than ever before (Campbell et al. 2012).
Luckerson (2014) observes that the past 15 years have observed a substantial shift in television
consumption pattern. An extensive number of viewers prefer to enjoy TV shows at their own
discretion rather than adhering to linear consumption of television. Nielsen reported that the year
2014 observed the steepest decline in traditional television viewership than any other year.