Boredom, Sadism, and Psychological Distress: A Correlational Study among Violent Web Series/Movies Viewers

Abstract

OTT encourages watching marathons of shows. The “one more episode” syndrome was cited by many viewers. Binge-watching was being used as a coping mechanism during and post-lockdown. This study aimed to identify the role of Boredom, Sadism, and Psychological Distress among violent web series/movie viewers. The sample consisted of 118 participants (M=53, F=65) aged 18-25. The data was collected online from all over India. The Short Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS; Struk et al., 2017), Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST-12; Buckels, 2021), and Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10; Kessler et al., 2003) were used to assess boredom, sadism, and psychological distress in the participants. The sampling method used was a random and convenience sampling method. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation test and Independent Sample T-test. The study found that there is a low positive correlation between boredom and sadism, a moderate positive correlation between boredom and psychological distress, and no significant correlation between sadism and psychological distress among violent web series/movie viewers. The study also indicates that there is no significant gender difference in boredom, however, there is a substantial difference in sadism and psychological distress. Women showed more boredom proneness and psychological distress and men showed more sadistic tendencies.