|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Spotify. Audible. Substack. Youtube Premium. Hulu. Netflix. Disney +. Bet +.
Hell, you can even get a subscription to therapy! (looking at you, BetterHelp). A never-ending
list of paid subscriptions runs our lives. And while fairly priced subscription-based media has its
advantages, it’s also causing consumer fatigue and subdued lament. Will we ever own anything
in our lives again?
Owning your home and car has always been an expensive luxury, but anyone born before 1995
remembers a time when folks actually owned their music media. Back in the “old” days, iTunes
was a platform that allowed you to pay for music that would be downloaded into your digital
music “library”. You bought a song once and it was yours forever! Before iTunes were CDs
(round discs that you could place in your car stereo system or in your in-home radio/CD Player).
You could even take your CDs on the go with “CD Players”, smaller versions of radios that
exclusively played whatever CD you wanted, attached to headphones. And before CDs, there
were vinyls (formerly called records) that would play on turntables.
TV used to be watched live on something called “cable” and you would have to wait a whole
week before you got to watch another episode. No bingeing allowed. And while I’m super
grateful we have the option to binge a show and watch some cable sitcoms and dramas
simultaneously, I do think the binge and subscribe life has gotten a bit out of hand.
One of the consequences of our subscribed life, as Boise State University psychology professor,
Mary Pritchard points out, is that, “There’s never an undo button that’s as easy as it was to sign
up, plus it becomes a psychological pain to have to go through the steps [to cancel it]. Even
though [there’s] a financial cost that’s associated with that, it’s sometimes easier for us to be
like, ‘Oh, I’ll cancel it next month.’ And then the next month comes around and we’ve forgotten
that we were going to cancel it because we just don’t want to deal with it.”
Add to that, companies require your debit/credit card information even though the seven- or
thirty-day trial is “free.” Before you know it, you’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars a
year on a service you might not even use or enjoy all that much because you keep forgetting to
cancel it.
The other drawback of subscriptions to everything means you lose access to everything if you
aren’t financially stable. Miss a payment? Say goodbye to the hundreds and thousands of songs
you downloaded and playlists you curated on Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music. And when it comes
to television streaming, by the time you add up your 5-6 different subscriptions, you realize
you’re better off paying for live TV in the first place. Especially since Hulu, Netflix and the other
streaming platforms still aren’t streaming awards ceremonies and monumental sporting events
like The Superbowl or the Olympics. Consumers have also complained about the quality of
content available on Netflix, despite the company continuing to increase their subscription price,
which begs the question, what am I even paying for?
Lastly, our subscribed life creates confusion around what modern society values and what is
worth monetizing. For example, Instagram is a free social media platform. You can post
pictures, watch and create videos and view the selected posts and newsworthy clips that your
friends especially want to promote via their “stories”. However, recently Instagram added a paid
feature where people can post exclusive content for those who pay to see their thoughts or what
they were up to that day. Mind you, “close friends” is already a feature on the app that allows
you to exclusively share your more risqué thoughts or memes with the people in your life who
are just as unhinged as you.
Why would I need to pay for even more exclusive content than what I get to see if I’m on
someone’s “close friends” list? The drive for hyper capitalism and hyper consumerism in every
single facet of our lives is getting crazy. No, not all your thoughts are worth a precious penny.
Neither are mine.
That’s why blogs exist to distinguish themselves from books (thoughts you need to pay for). The
same can be said about Patreon. Creators love it because they feel it monetizes better than
YouTube. But YouTube was always meant to be a free digital library. The creation of Youtube
equalized the Internet in its earliest days, but now it’s driven a new career path.
“Content Creators” are people who just go online and share their thoughts, lives or art in stylized
ways. Not to be confused with actual artists and entertainers that have to study and practice a
craft. My point is consumerism, further amplified by subscriptions to any and all forms of
entertainment, have destroyed a once upheld value of altruism–sharing information just
because it’s useful. Not because you’re trying to build a 6-figure coaching business on
Instagram, five minutes after learning an ancient philosophy.
The perks, of course, are that mailed subscriptions like magazines, meal prep kits and skin care
can make us feel special because we look forward to receiving something special in the mail.
Since we have access to our friends’ business and whereabouts all hours of the day due to
social media, we no longer write letters or send invites to special gatherings (sans weddings).
We can text, DM, and even video call our loved ones any time of the day so receiving actual
mail has become a long-lost thrill.
Mailed subscription services are also life savers for disabled people who otherwise might
struggle at best and go without at worst, some of life’s bare necessities. Being disabled and able
to order food through DoorDash or HelloFresh and get your essential items delivered through
Amazon is a blessing. A major convenience for able-bodied folks is a literal lifeline for those
who are not.
As Americans face constant chaos with updates on DOGE (the Department of Government
Efficiency) cuts and food recalls and obsess over how close we may be to World War III, the
topic of ownership might become more prevalent. How can we pivot back to traditional media?
Owning a library account or Libby and Hoopla account (where you can rent eBooks,
audiobooks, movies and magazines for free with a registered library card) will certainly help you
curb subscription costs and save one of the only socialist exchanges we have left in the nation.
How can you find a healthy balance between owning and renting the conveniences in your life?
Researchers at Boise State suggest the following practices:
Ask: Do you really need it? If you are not completely certain you need a subscription to X
service, write a reminder to yourself to revisit the subject in a month or two. Does the
idea still hold value then? How will this product demonstrably improve some aspect of
my life?
Ask: Do I have the budget for it? Samia Islam, economics professor says “Some ‘naïve’
buyers will make the choice of subscribing to multiple services without fully considering
the true life-time cost.” Essentially, before you try yet another trial, ask yourself if you can
fit it in with all the other subscriptions you currently hold.
I’d like to offer another suggestion. Check in with your friends, family and colleagues
and see who already has a subscription to the product or service you’re considering.
Does your friend have a library card or Libby account who can use to rent your books or
share their log-in so you can listen to audiobooks for free and ditch your Audible
payment? Does your roommate already have a meal-prep service that they’d be willing
to share with you to lower your cost of DoorDash purchases?
As the economy worsens, it’s time now, more than ever, to collaborate, network and
practice mutual aid. Let’s help one another rent less and enjoy more.
