To Those Who Do Not Binge-Watch, I Salute You.
Right now, in 2025, in North America, there are people who do not binge watch tv shows or podcasts. In fact, I know not just one or two brave souls, but hundreds of teens and adults who are not addicted to consuming content on Netflix or iTunes or Tik Tok or wherever. And their little siblings and children are not binge watching Paw Patrol or Minecraft, either. I feel your suspicions, your incredulity, but it’s true. And it’s not like they live in caves. They even have the internet! In fact, these very good and ‘normal’ people still have insanely long Whatsapp conversations and periodically pull out their phones during Sunday dinner just like most everyone else, but they have managed to avoid Bing-watching and binge-listening to content.
Mind blown? I hope so.
I say this for 2 reasons:
- I want to thank those of you who remind us it’s possible to be mindful in what – and how – we consume entertainment. Sometimes it feels like humankind has forgotten that there was a time when lived perfectly good lives, without being able to watch entire seasons of Grey’s Anatomy in a weekend.
- To give the rest of us hope.
Everyone is capable of being mindful of their entertainment choices. Beyond that, everyone, including me, is capable of setting a good example for their families.
Because we want to live full, vibrant lives, neither bingable nor a binger be.
The Trouble With Malcolm
I have a deep and abiding love for the writer, podcaster and entrepreneur Malcolm Gladwell. What’s not to love? He’s insatiably curious. He’s Canadian. I’m insatiably curious! I’m Canadian! Besides, his podcast Revisionist History has produced some of my all time favourite things. (The series on Causuistry, for instance, was a masterpiece.) And his books can be read on the flight from here to Vancouver. I can’t say that I agree with Malcolm’s analysis a lot of the time, but I don’t need to agree with people in order to like, admire, and learn from them.
So what’s not to like?
Well, Malcolm’s bingeable and he likes it that way. He doesn’t want people to just like his books or podcasts, he wants us to crave them. I have heard him, and people who broadcast for his company, tell me to “binge” his podcasts more times than I can remember. Given the amount of damage humans cause – and have caused to them – when they mindlessly binge things, I find this rather problematic.
After all, the best thing about art and ideas is that they help make the world richer, more thoughtful. Sometimes they even challenge us.
And you can’t binge and grow at the same time, so:
Neither binge-able nor a binge-er be.
And now I’m going to follow my own advice, and pick up a book while I wait for the A/C repair person to come.
Lindsey Jay Walsh, MMFT