Binge Watching Motivations as Predictors of Academic Procrastination Among University Students in Pakistan

Abstract

Binge-watching has become a routine form of digital leisure for university students worldwide, yet what drives it, and how it relates to academic habits, remains little studied in South Asia. This study examined binge-watching motivations as predictors of academic procrastination among 291 university students in Punjab, Pakistan (146 men, 145 women). Using a cross-sectional survey with convenience and snowball sampling, participants completed the Watching TV Series Motives Scale (Flayelle et al., 2019) and the Pure Procrastination Scale (Steel, 2010). The data were examined through reliability analysis, descriptive and frequency statistics, correlation, regression, and group comparisons. Entertainment and relaxation stood out as the strongest motivations, while social motives were endorsed least. Contrary to expectation, binge-watching motivation was only a weak, non-significant predictor of procrastination (β = .110, p = .060). Men scored significantly higher than women on overall viewing motivation, t(289) = 4.27, p < .001, yet the two groups procrastinated to much the same degree (p = .838). These early findings offer a baseline for further work on the motivational roots of academic delay among Pakistani students.

Keywords: binge watching, academic procrastination, escapism, university students, Pakistan, streaming platforms, uses and gratifications.