Whatcha Bingin’?

If you do not know at least 5 of these references or characters, there’s a high chance you live under a rock. Millennials, if nothing, have one thing in common -- binging. As the definition goes, binging is to heavily indulge in a particular activity; this may be eating, shopping, watching OTT content, and so on. This term has heavy usage when watching online content, and more so with the Quarantine year that’s passing us by. Being real for a moment though, it’s sure helping some of us be sane in these tough times.

Normal life demands moderation, but most millennials binge! Okay, let's not go overboard, not everybody binges, but everyone in some phase of their lives has found themselves in front of the leash of their choice -- TV, laptop, phone -- to fall into the trap of their loss of time, life, existence. Most of us know life from one show to another, and at the end of each show, one begs to question what life was before this.

We have it really easy in 2020, because of the rising popularity of the streaming platforms that just let us watch anything, in our time and space of choice. This ease of accessibility has made us their slaves, day in day out! Slaves may be too harsh, but we are robots who are glued to their screens at all times these days. It was a simpler time in the ‘90s when weekly shows and TV were in their prime. Quality was the focus and not Quantity.

Most modern houses have now moved on from the traditional cable network television to devices supporting OTT platforms. This has now brought world television right in our living room. Thanks to Netflix, a Spanish show like Money Heist goes on to become a world sensation and Bella Ciao becomes an anthem of the downtrodden. Smaller productions get budgets to produce shows neck-to-neck with big production houses; and with this, we see the contest of Quality coming back to the forefront -- where it should always belong. A light-hearted village drama Panchayat exists alongside the dark Paataal Lok, and a stylized courtroom drama in Suits coexists with the laugh-riot, cop-comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. All seem to exist in a universe that runs on our command.

It ain’t just Netflix and Chill anymore; Prime Video, Hotstar Disney+, Apple TV, Voot, Viu, YouTube, TVFPlay, and a dozen more, are competing each day to put out content that ranks them above the other. Be it original content, bringing the movie hall experience to homes, or sending us down the nostalgia lane; every OTT platform is bringing their A-game to keep us glued for hours. If Netflix has the world-wide reach with exceptional international shows, Prime Video is churning out one after other amazing originals, and Hotstar which was already cashing in from HBO shows has now teamed up with Disney to make every adult a kid again. Earlier people would see what creators wanted to show, and now there are millions of creators out there competing to grab our attention and get their share of our time.

The audiences have become smarter now and the tried-and-tested, safe-content formula doesn’t work anymore. People voice their opinions on social media which can make or break a show and a good word of mouth does wonders for the shows. Asur on Voot is a recent example of how content is the king, and for a bit, everyone was glued to the app just for that one show! This traction has helped the viewership of other shows on the app as well. The competition for creators is cut-throat, but the winner here is of course the audience. As the archaic saying goes where there is demand, supply follows, and as an avid, content-hungry audience we have a bazillion options to choose from.

If I might dare add, binging gets people closer. Yes, I do know the underlying irony here. I read it in a book, sapiens bond over common interests; build conversations, and exchange opinions over them. In our world, where it is easy to get lost in a crowd, striking a conversation on a common area of OTT content brings people closer. It may have started by just quoting things, like Kitne Aadmi The?, but now cult dialogues have crept into our lingo, our lifestyle, heck our clothing too. There is merchandise, memorabilia, decor, you name it! The meme culture has taken us by a storm, so much so that we see famed phrases used as PSAs. Even the Mumbai Police Twitter Handle regularly uses trendy memes to get their point across. Social media thrives on this wave. Aggressive marketing and Internet reachability have made this a way of life for us in 2020. Because frankly, that’s what connects. If nothing, people today watch shows to stay in tandem with the culture to understand references and use it to bond with one another.

The world today is Ocular! It is about what we see that makes us feel what we feel. Our opinions, ideas, conversations, stem from what we see. Our wokeness sometimes is misjudged by how much content we consume and how in sync we are with the most trending show and its related memes. This makes us forget our reality and makes some people project perspectives from someone else’s point of view. Subtle sexism, racism, slur have all been normalized for the longest time we know and as much as content viewing is a boon, we need to keep in touch with realism, values, and virtues. Things have changed for the better and we see progressive shows make their way into our lives making those uncomfortable discussions normal. It is a double-edged sword and it needs to be seen for what it is.

It is very easy to say that it's only a fool who gets encouraged by visual content and tries to tread on those lines, but each of us knows a fool who ever so often does go there. As a society, we learn from each other’s experiences and move ahead. Binge for the entertainment value, for the love of storytelling, and the ease with which we enjoy this privilege. While doing so, stay close to your loved ones, make an effort to spend time away from your leash, and every once a while indulge in a binge cleanse if you will! ALSO, while you keep scrolling through the OTT platform of your choice, if you think I may enjoy something do let me know whatcha bingin'?