I think I made up the title, but that's okay. I think I like what it means and apparently I'm getting better at making up words. Here's what I mean by unbinged. We all agree some things in life are worth waiting for, or said in a different way, some things are too good to consume all at once. You want to savor it, soak in it, enjoy it. Some times you need to give your mind a chance to develop a thought or an idea.
For this reason I think Netflix should release a new feature called Binge Lock. Here's what it would do. As a viewer I would have the choice on a particular series to select Binge Lock. If I choose to activate the feature Netflix would not allow me to watch more than one episode per week of that series. And there would be no way to turn it off...for that series.
I was thinking yesterday about AI and how we are in danger of a world with an unmoderated AI because it will appeal to our revealed self instead of our aspirational self. This is a perfect example of that. I know I would love the "ideal" of making myself wait for something, but when the system gives me an auto-playing "Next Episode" in 30 seconds this appeals to my revealed self (sadly, one which loves the idea of instant gratification).
A feature like Binge Lock would give me the power to develop my aspirational self a bit more.
As a nice side benefit Netflix would have a way to encourage more chatter about their shows, the idea of "spoilers" becomes real again, and who knows maybe subscriptions would increase as well.