OH, NO!!! I missed today’s Heroes episode. Heroes? I don’t watch that show. They are not having any reruns right now and I don’t want to start somewhere in the middle and ruin everything. Well, no problem, you can watch the episodes online.
Watching videos/shows online has become somewhat of a trend lately. I don’t have any statistics on what percent of the population watch shows online or how many people are watching videos online at a given second. What I can say is that a large chunk of people I know watch movies, episodes of anime or TV shows online. Some are pretty “addicted” to it (I am, unfortunately, one of them).
So why are people so hooked onto video streaming? What affordances/features are people attracted to? Well, for one, most of the video streaming sites are FREE (affordability). No more DVD rentals and late fees. The number of videos online is HUGE (variety). It can be argued that the most popular video streaming site would be Youtube with its vast collection of videos and the constant and massive video uploading (though its videos are often subjected to removal by Youtube staffs due to term violations etc). But there are many other sites with their own vast collections (e.g. Veoh). They can be viewed by anyone with access to a computer and Internet connection (accessibility). You can search these sites for anything that pops into your mind (searchability, interactivity). Some sites are like a menu consisted of links to streaming sites with the complete series (e.g. Animethat!). You don’t even have roam the net or browse on Youtube looking for your favorite series, it’s already hunted down and sorted for you (accessibility). When the video streaming site enables comments on the video (e.g. Youtube), people have a place to share their opinion with other fans/viewers who has watched the same video (interactivity).
Without a doubt, Anime, Movie, TV show streaming can lead to Problematic Internet Use (PIU). According to Caplan, Problematic Internet Use is made up of two components: excessive use and compulsive use.
Excessive use is when the time one uses to spend in an online space exceeds the normal or planned amount. An episode of a sitcom or an anime is around 30mins. A tv show like heroes is 1hr. Movies are over an hour. When they no longer need to jump into the middle of an episode because they missed the schedule, people would like to watch whole episodes. Thus, people who watch episodes or movies online tend to video streaming 30+ minutes in one sitting. After finishing an episode (especially one that ended in a cliffhanger), people want to find out what happens next. In normal television setting, people would usually have to wait for the next episode to come up the next day or the following week. But in online video streaming, people can view the next episode with a few keystrokes in the search engine or a few mouse clicks in the related search result list or the playlist. People would tend to watch one episode after another until something stops them.
Compulsive use refers to the inability to control one’s online activities along with a feeling of guilt of the lack of control. Even with a huge load of work chasing after them, people may still be found saying to themselves things like “just a little more, just until I know what happens to after this.” They know they should be doing work. They know they shouldn’t be watching videos, even if it’s a cult classic. And before they know it, they have spent a couple more hours watching video online, and the work they need to finish did not decrease one bit. An attempt to relax turned into a marathon and before they know it, they may have become too tired to do their work. They may have to pull all-nighters to finish their work (sometimes even all-nighters can’t help, especially if they are watching videos in the middle of doing work). As a result, people are tired, sleepy and feeling terrible in the morning. They feel guilty about not being able to do their best at work or in class. They feel guilty about not finishing work. They feel terrible about not being able to do other things that they planned or wanted to do. All these guilt originated from their watching video online, but they just can’t stop themselves when the videos are right there.
Personally, I think the PIU caused by watching videos online does not fit well into Caplan’s Theory of Problematic Internet Use and Psychosocial Well-Being since people who watch videos online don’t necessarily have psychosocial problems in real life—it may be alternative of watching TV for them.
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7 comments:
The last paragraph of your essay is perhaps the most thought provoking. You make an argument that video watching online doesn't fit the Caplan model, because it is too similar to TV use offline. I'll note that you gave a hedge to allow that some people can be addicted to TV use offline, but I would like to pinpoint the idea that TV use parallels this PIU you addressed.
How divergent is TV use from this particular use of the Internet? A person with cable or statelite can often flip channels until they find something they want to watch, marathons running all day long in syndication leave just as many cliff-hangers between episodes as they do hosted on the web. We could dissemenate further the parallels, but for brevity's sake, let's assume that video's online are simply a higher grade of television viewing. So, knowing this, and granting your discussion of the cyclical nature of PIU modeled by Caplan which says that a person with pyschosocial problems is more likely to use the Internet which causes real life problems furthering their pyschosocial problems, I'd argue that your report on video use on the web actually perfectually fits this model. Most of the technologies we analyze have many offline parallels (video games, pornography, shopping, etc.) that are documented to be addictive or create compulsive behavior. Video use online versus television use falls into the same dynamic. Caplan is saying that the Internet Affordances for addiction are what further PIU. So the affordability, variety, accessibility, etc. of online videos create these extra affordances for addiction.
Great post Rui. I agree with your analysis that watching TV online can lead to PIU, but that it also doesn't really fit into Caplan's theory of Problematic Internet Use and psychosocial well-being. I have definitely fallen into that trap of watching strings of episodes online trying to catch up with a show mid-season. It's the perfect way to procrastinate, and in this manner, will obviously have negative academic consequences. It can also have direct social consequences. For example, over the summer, there would be times I would say I was going to meet up with my friends somewhere and just end up watching episodes of "Rescue Me" online and never even get out of bed. However, this is something that doesn't have to result from online. Now, networks release full seasons of shows on DVD. So if you look at it like that, is it really the special features of watching the shows online that is causing PIU, or just the fact that there is seemingly infinite access that results in excessive and compulsive use not dealing with specific aspects of the Internet?
Rui,
Great post, and so true! I didn't even think to write about watching TV online as a possible factor in PIU. However, as you described it, it became clear that some people could view TV-watching as an addictive behavior. On the other hand, there are definitely aspects of the activity that scream of personality differences. Because online episodes only really differ from watching the shows when they air in that they are more convenient, I think that TV-watching online really isn't an addictive behavior, or conducive to PIU or Caplan's theories. Also, I think as technology is advancing and there are more and more things to do on the internet, people simply turn to online-related activities when bored in place of other non-productive activities. I enjoyed your post!
Hey Rui,
Very interesting post. I agree that those who watch videos online may not have psychosocial problems like loneliness and depression. There is a difference people watching streamed media alone in an attempt to avoid society and watching in a social context with friends. Also, tv streaming online doesn’t completely fit in with the Caplan model for internet addiction in the sense that it doesn’t require interaction of any sort- it is completely passive. Thus, one wouldn’t be able to feel more efficacious in communicating and that spiral of preference for internet use over “real life” wouldn’t exist. Streaming is somewhat like downloading in that you acquire copyrighted material for free. That said, the reduced social responsibility online may be responsible for the widespread use of illegally acquired content.
Again, good job!
Christina
Excellent analysis of potential PIU through online video streaming. It is refreshing to see so much evidence that watching many streaming videos on the internet does not have to be considered PIU if it replaces other similar activities, such as watching TV shows or movies. The convenience factor of being able to watch a show, with limited commercial interruption, online, at any time may be a major contributing factor to the success of video streaming online. Although I would argue that watching too many YouTube videos such that it affects one's productivity or ability to concentrate is a symptom of Problematic Internet Use.
I love your summation and description of this very notorious PIU presence on many college campuses. I know from personal experience and from personal exposure of my former roommate’s extremely excessive usage. There were weeks where my roommate managed to cover 25 hours of online TV through streaming and channel websites such as abc.com. It’s really crazy.
I agree that this PIU does not fit completely with Caplan's theory but there are definitely more correlations than you are giving credit for. In my observations (of my former roommate), psychosocial problems were present with her excessive usage to the extent that she would prefer online interaction instead of FtF because of the social distance it provided. This preference spiraled into her being more likely to utilize online TV versus regular TV to avoid people. She was further trying to avoid schoolwork and family problems by absorbing herself in a continuous chain of online TV shows/seasons. An immense amount of usage usually stems from a problem with one’s well being.
You gave an excellent explanation of Wallace's theories of the main internet factors into the desciption. Really good insight!
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