{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T16:42:26Z","timestamp":1790700146760,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768953600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    This study advances understanding of problematic media use by differentiating addictive from non-addictive binge-watching in relation to loneliness\u2014an 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 (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20090.325,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&lt;\u20090.01), but not to non-problematic binge-watching behavior. Analysis identified both escapism (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20090.575,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&lt;\u20090.01) and emotional enhancement motives (\n                    <jats:italic>\u03b2<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009=\u20090.429,\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&lt;\u20090.01) 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.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0329853","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T18:21:32Z","timestamp":1769019692000},"page":"e0329853","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Binge-watching addiction as an emotion regulation way of coping loneliness"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5982-6526","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xiaofan","family":"Yue","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"reference":[{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0329853.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1108\/SAJM-05-2021-0070","article-title":"Impacts of binge-watching on Netflix during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"2","author":"KT Rahman","year":"2021","journal-title":"South Asian Journal of Marketing"},{"key":"pone.0329853.ref002","article-title":"Unsurprising: Netflix survey indicates people like to binge-watch TV","author":"K West","year":"2014","journal-title":"Cinema-Blend"},{"key":"pone.0329853.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"36","DOI":"10.29120\/ijpsw.2025.v16.i1.637","article-title":"Binge-watching as a behavioural addiction: A systematic review of causes, consequences, and potential for mental health intervention","volume":"36","author":"D Joseph","year":"2025","journal-title":"Indian J Psychiatr Soc Work"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0329853.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4469","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17124469","article-title":"Understanding the Phenomenon of Binge-Watching-A Systematic Review","volume":"17","author":"JA Starosta","year":"2020","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0329853.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1111\/jsr.13747","article-title":"\u201cThis is the last episode\u201d: the association between problematic binge-watching and loneliness, emotion regulation, and sleep-related factors in poor sleepers","volume":"32","author":"V Alfonsi","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Sleep Res"},{"key":"pone.0329853.ref006","article-title":"Does binge-watching make us depressed? 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