Series can be addictive

They are available anytime and anywhere: How series are engaging young viewers in the age of streaming and what parents should look out for.

Few things have unsettled parents as much in recent years as digital media. After all, television is one of the media that we are still very familiar with. In contrast to smartphones and social networks, we can draw on our own childhood experiences. We all know this: certain days of the week were firmly associated with certain series. In the playground, we would chat with friends about the latest episodes, laugh and get excited - it brought us closer together.

When we talk about the TV series of our childhood today, we romanticise the storylines and their heroes in retrospect. In short: when it comes to linear television, we parents are real experts, or rather we were, because its days are already numbered.

Streaming is nice, but expensive

Streaming services such as Netflix have long since replaced traditional television and brought us all a certain liberation: finally, the annoying ad breaks are a thing of the past. What's more, we no longer have to adhere to the time dictates of the broadcasters or their cemented programme offerings. We - parents and children - now decide for ourselves what we want to watch and when.

According to the JAMES Study 2020, three quarters of Swiss families have a streaming subscription. A third of young people even have their own subscription. This figure is likely to be significantly higher today. In addition to Netflix, other providers such as Amazon Prime, Sky, Apple TV and Disney+ are vying for the favour of new customers. For parents, this is also primarily a question of cost. It's not exactly easy to choose the best offer. And children always find the subscription that is not available to them particularly appealing. However, this may not be the only educational challenge.

Because children and young people always have their digital devices close at hand for communication, the temptation of streaming services is omnipresent.

Children and young people no longer watch TV in the living room, but on their laptops, tablets or smartphones. In this way, consumption quickly escapes our control. However, this is not easy for children and young people either. Because they constantly have these devices close at hand for their communication and often even use them for school work, the sweet temptation of streaming, YouTube or Twitch - a kind of real-time television on the internet - is always just a tap away. Series are their favourite. One reason why so many of them are being produced today: They bind viewers firmly to their channel or brand in a highly prosperous and fiercely competitive market.

While feature films offer a one-off experience, series are more of an everyday character that can drag on for weeks and months. Just because a season comes to an end doesn't mean that the story is finished. The next season is sure to come and, unlike linear television, is available in its entirety on streaming services. There are three ways in which (young) viewers are kept engaged:

  • Bindung durch Dramaturgie: Serien haben einen längeren Spannungsbogen als Filme. In jeder Folge werfen sie Fragen auf, nach deren Beantwortung die Zuschauer dürsten. Oft gibt es kleine Cliffhanger mittendrin und dann den grossen Cliffhanger zum Schluss. 
  • Bindung durch Empathie: Drehbuchautoren sprechen von einer «empathischen Verknüpfung» mit den Figuren. Die Helden werden zu neuen Familienmitgliedern oder einer Freundesclique. Beim linearen Fernsehen kamen die einmal die Woche zu Besuch, nun können Kinder und Jugendliche sie jederzeit durch Einschalten zurückholen. Sie durchleben deren wöchentliche Wandlungen mit und schauen, wie sie zum Beispiel mit Konflikten umgehen. Auch zu den Markenwelten gibt es eine empathische Verbindung, etwa beim Star-Wars-Ableger «The Mandalorian».
  • Bindung durch Erwartung: Serien bieten auch eine Belohnung durch Vorwissen. Kinder und Jugendliche kennen den Kosmos einer Serie. Sie sind mit der Welt der Vampire, Meerjungfrauen oder der Liebesschmonzette vertraut. Bei einem Gruselszenario wollen sie sich erschrecken oder in einer Komödie zum Lachen gebracht werden.

However, no matter what worlds children and young people are exposed to in drama, horror or youth series, they always remain safe. Even when it comes to murder and manslaughter on screen, they feel safe at home. This is reinforced in groups; watching series with friends has the character of an event. That was already the case back then. Only one thing has changed: reception behaviour.

What is binge watching?

The English term «binge» stands for binge. «Binge watching» therefore logically describes the excessive consumption of television series. Such a series marathon can sometimes last an entire season. The phenomenon is not an invention of streaming services, but has existed at least since the sale of series in DVD boxes. However, streaming providers are now even fuelling the lack of series technically. After the end of an episode, the next episode starts just a few seconds later with so-called autoplay. It takes a great deal of self-regulation to resist.

Is that harmful? Well, first of all, anyone who watches television for more than three to four hours at a time knows the consequences. You feel dull, your eyes burn, your head hurts. Researchers at the University of Melbourne have also discovered what every experienced series watcher already knows: the more episodes viewers watch, the less well they can remember what they have seen. This may sound alarming, but it is not, because in this case we are only talking about series and not excessive learning for school. However, binge-watching can lead to children and young people not only letting series determine their daily routine and leisure behaviour, but also to them losing sleep and suffering from a lack of exercise as a result of constant binge-watching.

Conclusion: Nothing speaks against a series marathon if it remains the exception. As with all media, the dose makes the poison.

Tips for parents

  • Ein Code (PIN) verhindert, dass Filme ab 16 oder 18 Jahren zugänglich sind. 
  • Streamingdienste bieten ­Sicherheitseinstellungen, Youtube den ­eingeschränkten Modus.
  • Verständnis: In der durchaus beängstigenden Coronakrise ist der Wunsch nach Ablenkung stärker. Kinobesuch findet kaum noch statt.
  • Auch mal zusammen schauen: Früher war Fernsehen etwas, das Familien zusammenbrachte. Heute sieht jeder getrennt auf eigenen Geräten fern.

To the author:

Thomas Feibel 58, is one of the leading journalists on the subject of «children and new media» in the German-speaking world. The media expert runs the Office for Children's Media in Berlin, gives readings and lectures, and organises workshops and seminars. His most recent book for parents, «Jetzt pack doch mal das Handy weg», was published by Ullstein-Verlag. Feibel is married and has four children.

Read more from Thomas Feibel:

  • Kinder brauchen Vertrauen, keine digitale Hundeleine
    Erziehung ist viel zu wichtig, um sie technischen Geräten zu überlassen. Sein Kind digital zu kontrollieren, ist daher keine gute Idee.
  • Brutale Spiele machen etwas mit der Seele des Kindes
    Wenn Kinder und Jugendliche Ego-Shooter spielen, machen sich Eltern meist Sorgen. Warum diese oft unbegründet sind, was es mit der sogenannten Angstlust auf sich hat und warum trotzdem Vorsicht geboten ist, weiss unser Kolumnist.
  • Kinderfotos sind privat
    Warum es keine gute Idee ist, Fotos von seinen Kindern zu posten, erklärt unser Medienexperte Thomas Feibel. 
  • Tiktok ist kein harmloser Spass
    Die soziale Videoplattform zieht Kinder und Jugendliche massenhaft an. Was Eltern und Pädagogen über die Unterhaltungsapp Tiktok wissen müssen.