Remember the good old days when you had to plan your week around a TV show? Oh, how we whinged about that once upon a time. Today, the era of streaming services has thrown all of that out the window, and our entertainment consumption has become as immediate yet unfulfilling as gobbling down a drive-thru burger.

Now, I’m not saying streaming services are all bad. They provide an endless buffet of content—much like those all-you-can-eat restaurants where you can never get past the mediocre pasta section. But here’s my beef (pun intended): the sheer glut of content has turned us into content zombies. We’re not savouring the shows; we’re bingeing them in a way that would make your local GP raise an eyebrow.

And what have we traded for this smorgasbord of shows? A sense of anticipation, for one. The suspense of waiting for the next episode is gone, vanished faster than a Tim Tam from a communal office biscuit tin. Back then, we had time to digest an episode, to engage in rampant speculation about who would get the axe or kiss the girl. Now, it’s all about the next hit, the next episode, the next series—an entertainment assembly line that’s more about quantity than quality.

Another problem? They’re all starting to feel the same. Much like how every fast-food chain has its own special sauce that suspiciously tastes like every other chain’s special sauce, streaming services are churning out content that blends into one another. Dystopian futures, crime dramas, and more superhero shows than you can poke a cape at—it’s a conveyor belt of clichés.

Is this the future we dreamed of when we imagined unbridled access to entertainment? The promise was freedom, but the reality feels more like a never-ending kitchen junk drawer filled with half-open packets of entertainment.

So, what’s the solution? Moderation. A concept as rare these days as a landline phone. Take a moment to savour a series, let the plot marinate like a good Aussie barbecue. Maybe even rediscover the joy of weekly anticipation. After all, we might have more content than ever, but isn’t it time we tried to enjoy it a bit more?