Different individuals have different approaches to utilise their leisure time. However, there is general consensus that most people spend their spare time watching movies. There are many underlying reasons behind it, and I believe it has both positive and negative consequences, which I will elaborated in the following discourse with relevant examples.
Commencing with the reasons for this trend, in the contemporary era, the advancement of technology has made available various OTT platforms, thereby providing easy access to different genres of movies. Moreover, the pervasive use of gadgets has made people glued to screens for watching pictures as their favourite pass time.
This hobby has many benefits, but one of the main ones is that it helps to release stress and provides a different perspective on life through its stories. In today’s world, due to a hectic schedule, people are burdened with a workload. Movies provide escape from reality for some time and are also helpful in improving cognitive skills, as they are a mental exercise. To illustrate, a poll done by Hindustan Times highlighted that seeing films is the most common activity among citizens during their idle time. Hence, this activity is enjoyed by all age groups.
Conversely, this activity has some drawbacks as well. Movie-buffers get too occupied in watching it, not realising that they are becoming isolated and avoiding social gatherings. Such people get comfortable in their own company and avoid meeting people. To illustrate, as per Dr Rahul, psychologist of AIMS hospital, 30% of film audience avoid social gatherings. Hence, addiction to anything is vain.
To recapitulate, watching audio-video pictures in free time is very common in the current time. Easy availability at the comfort of one’s home has made this a conducive choice. It is a great stress-buster activity; however, spending too much time on it leads to addiction and introversion.