ArticlePloS one2026
Binge-watching addiction as an emotion regulation way of coping loneliness.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study advances understanding of problematic media use by differentiating addictive from non-addictive binge-watching in relation to loneliness-an aspect often overlooked in prior research. It contributes to the field in three key ways: first, by empirically distinguishing problematic from non-problematic binge-watching; second, by demonstrating that loneliness significantly predicts binge-watching addiction but not non-problematic viewing; and third, by identifying escapism and emotional enhancement as dual emotion regulation pathways mediating this relationship, thereby extending existing single-motive frameworks. Using a sample of 551 participants, the study employed correlation and regression analyses to investigate these associations. Binge-watching addiction was assessed using the Problematic Series Watching Scale, and binge-watching motives were measured using the Watching TV Series Motives Questionnaire. Results revealed that loneliness was positively related to binge-watching addiction (β = 0.325, p < 0.01), but not to non-problematic binge-watching behavior. Analysis identified both escapism (β = 0.575, p < 0.01) and emotional enhancement motives (β = 0.429, p < 0.01) as significant factors contributing to binge-watching addiction, suggesting a dual-pathway model of emotion regulation. These findings refine theoretical models of maladaptive media use by illustrating how binge-watching addiction may serve as a behavioral emotion regulation strategy for coping with loneliness via both negative reinforcement and positive enhancement.
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