Binge-Watching, Self-Determination, and Well-Being: A Partially Successful Direct Replication and Extension of

Abstract

Binge-watching is a highly relevant new media phenomenon. An increasing number of people watch multiple episodes of their favorite series online, a process often spanning several hours. Granow et al. (2018) showed that binge-watching is accompanied by both positive as well as negative psychological experiences. Because it is one of the most important studies on the topic, we conducted a direct replication of Granow et al. (2018). We also extended the original study by including additional variables derived from self-determination theory. We conducted an online questionnaire with 668 respondents. Results showed that we could not reproduce the exact model that was reported. We also needed to adapt several of the originally tested measures to achieve satisfactory model fit. After introducing these changes, results showed that we replicated 67 percent of all effects in terms of significance (i.e., originally significant effects were also significant in the replication, and vice versa). When looking at effect size (i.e., originally reported effects fell into the replication’s 95% confidence interval), we replicated 42 percent. Together, our study represents a partial replication of Granow et al. (2018). In our extension, we found two further positive links between binge-watching and well-being: Binge-watching was associated not only with greater autonomy, but also with increased feelings of competence and relatedness. Competence and relatedness were related to increased well-being, which included vitality, recovery experience, and media enjoyment. In line with Granow et al. (2018), we find that binge-watching is related to self-determined media use and improved psychological well-being.