Ownership is Still Important in the Age of Digital Media
The subscription model has become an increasingly popular way to consume media and use technology. We no longer own our movies, computer programs or music, but we subscribe to them instead. Some purchases, such as digital movies, do not even result in outright ownership, but in revokable permission to use a product.
This business model has many disadvantages for consumers. The main problem with this move away from owning products is the impermanence of access. While many products have an option for a one-time purchase, such as Microsoft Office programs, many are only available as a subscription, as is the case with Adobe Creative Cloud programs. This subscription-only model forces users to continually rent programs with the only benefit being continuous access to updates the majority of users will not need or even notice. Consumers should have the option to own products instead of being forced into yet another subscription.
Even when users purchase a digital product to own, many times they do not technically own it. While many users may not care about this, it can be an issue if the platform or their account is shut down. This distribution model was especially problematic when a Facebook account was required to use Meta Quest devices. If a player’s Facebook account was terminated due to violating Facebook’s terms of service, that player would lose access to their entire game library and be unable to sign into their headset, rendering their several hundred-dollar device inoperable. This is unfair to players, especially since their account may be shut down for something completely unrelated to their gaming, such as having multiple accounts.
In addition to a user’s access to their purchases and subscriptions being impermanent, there is an issue with digital media being impermanent. While users expect streaming services to cycle through movies and television shows, many users may be surprised when streaming services remove specific episodes of television shows due to censorship. Many popular shows, such as “Community,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “Bluey” have had episodes removed or edited by streaming services due to their content being deemed offensive. As ownership of media becomes rarer, censorship of media will become easier and more effective. If all copies of a piece of media can be edited and deleted freely, companies such as Disney could destroy all instances of controversial content in an Orwellian fashion.
While subscription models have their rightful place due to value and convenience, they are not an outright replacement for ownership. Unfortunately, ownership of media is often an illusion because of how digital media is distributed and hosted. This trend is unfair to consumers and raises ethical questions about censorship. Consumers need more transparency and more options for how they use technology and consume media.
