Slow Down

Avatar Obi

I was browsing YouTube, as you do, and came across that thinker. It made me pause and reconsider how I consume television shows.

We didn't have binging growing up, unless it was DVD sets or marathons on television. Every Sunday night, one of my parents would go outside to give the TV antenna a few twists-- enough for the FOX channel to come in. Sometimes it'll be good enough but if the weather was great, the signal was crisp. The metal bar would shriek against the trailer until it was ready, and we'd all settle in to watch an episode of The Simpsons.

Waiting and adjusting was the norm, and that was still the case by the time torrenting came around. If you knew the right channels the wait wasn't much longer than more mundane means. Free tiers on Crunchyroll, IRC channels, and peers was only a day's delay behind official broadcasts. I'd obtain, watch, and eagerly go somewhere to gab about it. I got to share the excitement of Evil Morty's master plan, every WTF moment in Attack on Titan, and whatever obscure yuri was recommended to me.

But then I left Reddit, and I no longer had access to those spaces. Now I just hold off until the entire season is done releasing, then I'll binge to my heart's content. Since I had no one to talk to about it I didn't have to wait. But I find myself hitting up TVTropes for details and angles I could have missed... especially when I fall asleep during a insomniac binge.

Pacing myself to a sustainable amount of episodes per day is a happy medium for me. As Obi mentions, this gives me time to mull over and really appreciate the story. This theory has only been bolstered by watching Foundation with a partner-- while I could easily watch several 50-minute episodes in a row, they'd tap out after one or two. And since we're watching together, I'd be forced to wait. And I really enjoy Foundation.

And I do regret not watching X-men '97 with everyone else; I missed out on the community fun and discussion. I'll be sure to follow along next time.