Why Owning Nothing Is So Expensive (Business Insider)

[QueerDuck]

Why Owning Nothing Is So Expensive
Business Insider

Subscription services exist for nearly everything consumers buy. Many, like Netflix or Spotify, start out affordable, but the cost adds up over time. And while signing up is effortless, cancelling can be difficult. Companies such as Adobe and Amazon have even been accused by the Federal Trade Commission of using dark patterns to trap consumers in subscriptions.

But rising costs are only part of the problem. The subscription model is eroding consumer’s opportunity to own what they buy. So how did we get to the point where practically everything is a subscription? And why is owning nothing making everything so expensive?

[exboyfil]

1. Still running my Microsoft Office 2010

Just move it to my next computer.

[QueerDuck]

3. I did that too. When I could no longer update OS's and suites... I gave up and switched to Linux Mint.

It was a challenge at first, but after two years... I'm thrilled to be done with MS for my everyday regular use.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. I use LibreOffice instead of Microsoft Office

It seems to work the same.

from www.libreoffice.org

[LisaM]

2. Try to explain this to younger consumers or tech people.

On some level, I don't think they know what money even represents. When I first started working full time and cashed my paycheck, most would go into my checking account to pay bills, and I would keep something like $25 or $30 for other expenses, mainly groceries and going out. When that was gone, I had to decide if I should tap into my anemic bank account for more or just live on the groceries still in the fridge for a few days.

Subscription software is even more insidious. People used to buy and install software. Now, you can't do that. You essentially rent it. And the rent is raised or the lease is readjusted or cancelled at whim. There is very little regulation.

We have all had to suddenly realize that we can't use our phones for something we always have, or been stymied just trying to park for an event because now you need an app, the list goes on. Amazon and the billionaires we all knowingly support thrive on this. We are just their stooges.

[Bettie]

4. There are places where you can't park

without an app? Wow.

[LisaM]

6. Yes, lots of them in Seattle.

My partner and I were meeting for a baseball game a few years ago. The tickets were both on his phone, so I had to wait for him outside the stadium (it was raining). He was in the nearby parking ramp trying to park. First it made him download the app. Once he did, it told him he already had the app and now he had to try and remember his old password ( and it wouldn't take his answer to a security question which he knew was right). He couldn't call or text me because he was on his phone struggling through the bullshit.

When he finally got that to work and got to the game, we couldn't download the Ballpark app the Mariners used because of overload, so we had to go wait in line at the box office., where they issued us actual tickets. We were both so pissed at that point that we almost decided to skip the game and leave. We both were at the actual gates an hour ahead of time and barely made the first pitch (we also had to show proof of COVID vaccines once we were there so we could access our section).

Aside from the COVID part, all of this could have been avoided if they had just sent us paper tickets and we could have paid for parking with cash. Why they treat customers that way is beyond me.

That's a long story, but the upshot is that there are younger consumers out there who accept this and other things as the norm and don't realize that they are exchanging pretty heavy sums to be treated this way. And it all feeds up to billionaires.