Netflix welfare check

I miss the days of watching shows without a care in the world. In high school and college, I functionally had zero responsibility compared to what I experience these days. I’m not complaining, it’s just part of growing up.

From time to time, I still get sucked into shows to the point where I can’t shut them off. This happened in January when I watched The Wire for the first time (for those who are wondering, Season 2 is a bit of a slump but 3 and 4 are some of the best television out there).

Anyways, I think it’s funny that Netflix asks after a few hours of inactivity whether or not you’re still watching. I assume the intent here is to 1) help people who fall asleep not lose their place and 2) collect data about people’s bedtimes. I’m not sure though, as I don’t work at Netflix.

I wonder what it might look like if Netflix was a bit more… forward in this scenario. For example, what if after a certain duration of unresponsive time, Netflix initiated a welfare check automatically and stuck you with the bill?

The likely indirect outcome of this (besides people switching streaming providers) would be an earlier bedtime for many. Why risk paying for a welfare check when you can get some extra sleep? This would never exist for 1,000 different reasons, but it’s funny imagining the amount of extra work and confusion this would cause night owls who love watching their shows.

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