Rather than savouring our favourite shows, now we're expected to rush through an entire season in one night like it's a badge of honour.

As expected, network programmers were first against the wall when the revolution came. Australia's commercial broadcasters are bleeding viewers thanks to their contempt for audiences, and if you've turned your back on free-to-air television then it's unlikely you look back on it fondly.

Subscription video services like Netflix let us watch what we want, when we want. You no longer need to put up with bastardry like free-to-air networks deliberately starting shows late, making last-minute schedule changes, cramming in too many ads and plastering promos over the top of what you're watching.

Breaking the shackles of the broadcast schedule changes the way you watch television, especially when streaming services drop an entire season at once rather than forcing us to wait for the next weekly installment.

Admittedly only a few weeks ago I was questioning why we're still drip-fed some shows in the streaming age, but be careful what you wish for.

Rather than setting us free to enjoy our favourite shows at our own pace – stealing an hour or two of 'me time' at the end of a busy day – the rise of "binge racing" threatens to squeeze the joy out of kicking back on the couch.

It's more than just playing on our fear of missing out, Netflix is actively spruiking binge racing as a competition – with pulling an all-nighter to watch an entire season as soon as it's released becoming a new "status symbol". Rather than savouring each course of a banquet, we're expected to shovel it down like there's some prize for finishing first and then demand more.

"There's a unique satisfaction that comes from being the first to finish a story – whether it's the final page of a book or the last, climactic moments of your favorite TV show," says Brian Wright – Netflix's Vice President of Original Series.

"Netflix allows you to watch in a way you never could before, and there's nothing better than seeing a show engage our members and ignite a passion for viewing."

Australian viewers rank eighth amongst the world's most prolific Netflix bingers, according to the streaming giant.

Of course you can't blame Netflix for the way people choose to watch television. In some ways binge watching is more of a reflection on society than on streaming services, but why is Netflix celebrating binge racing and turning these people into heroes?

When a captive audience happily hands over its money each month, what's to be gained by encouraging us to "watch fast in pursuit of glory" and rush through an entire season in one day?

Partly it's to cultivate that social fear of missing out, so we won't question the value of our Netflix subscription amid growing competition. Binge racing also highlights Netflix's greatest point of difference to arch rival HBO, which still drip-feeds up blockbusters like Game of Thrones in weekly installments.

You don't tend to hear people complain about the fact that HBO and Foxtel don't drop an entire season of Game of Thrones at once, if anything people enjoy the weekly ritual and sense of anticipation.

Try as it might, Netflix can't whip up the same kind of ongoing frenzy around original content like Stranger Things because it's so fleeting – the next week we're onto something else. So instead Netflix wants to whip up a frenzy around the act of watching anything as fast as you can – encouraging an insatiable viewing appetite in the age of hyper consumerism.

The ongoing success of Game of Thrones in the binge watching era shows that the real attraction of subscription services isn't binge watching. The real attraction is being treated with respect as a viewer and Netflix needs to be sure it doesn't lose sight of this in its push to get us hooked on binge watching.