Benefits from binging? What a study says ahead of ‘Stranger Things’ finale.

Supercharging your imagination

The study completed two experiments — each featuring more than 230 people. The studies asked participants to identify memorable stories from TV shows, movies or books that they thought about when not actively watching or reading them. They were then asked to report stories they found less memorable and asked a series of questions concerning their experiences with every story — including average time spent consuming content per session.

The researchers discovered binge watching may help content consumers imagine more richly textured worlds and characters than traditional show watchers and readers.

“People who have that habit of binge-watching shows often aren’t doing it passively but are actually actively thinking about it afterwards,” Baldwin said in a news release. “They’re very much wanting to engage with stories, even when they’re not around to watch shows.”

Possible stress relief benefits

As it helps content consumers form more detailed mental models of those stories in their memories, binge watching may also be giving audiences better tools for stress relief.

“Humans are storytelling creatures,” Baldwin said. “One of the functions of narratives is the ability to satisfy motivations for things like connecting with other people, feeling autonomous and confident, and even security and safety.

“Stories have characters that fulfill these roles, and we can satisfy those needs through them.”

According to the study, consecutive media consumption may help people recover from daily stress by giving them stronger memories of the story to return to any time after viewing or reading. By being able to better imagine those worlds and their characters, audiences can better cope with stress through their storied memories.

“We believe that our results create heuristic value for future research interested in the impact on binge-watching and psychological recovery,” the study stated.

How binge watching might harm your health

While binge watching might give our imaginations a boost, even giving us a new tool for stress relief along the way, there are some possible negatives to binging.

The American Heart Association reported that longer periods of TV viewing might increase a person’s risk of developing a blood clot. In 2020, Arizona State University researchers determined that increases in screentime were associated with negative health consequences and poor diet. A 2022 meta-analysis study discovered a positive association between binge watching and certain mental health problems — including stress, loneliness, anxiety, depression and insomnia. Though the study noted that content consumers may be turning to binge watching to satisfy their psychological needs.

If you’re planning to binge the Georgia-filmed “Stranger Things” final season this holiday weekend, practice discretion. Baldwin and his fellow researchers noted in their study that more research into the mental health effects of retrospective imaginative involvement and binge watching are still needed.

“There’s a lot of debate over whether or not media is a good or bad thing, but it’s always nuanced argument,” Baldwin said. “It always depends on the content itself, why people are watching it, the psychological background of the individual and the context.”