At the same time, people younger than me baulk at having to manage their own stuff. As a mobile-first generation, their PCs/Macs are an afterthought. They see regular television and radio as old-world (broadcast) streaming services, and Prime/Hotstar/Alt-Balaji/Netflix as the logical next stage. they have never had to store anything, never had to back it up. They lament a TV show or music album no longer being available because a service chose to not renew a licenss, but they move on quickly because they know it’ll just show up sooner or later on another service. Impermanence is not a bug, it’s just part of the experience.
My world of downloaded and organized libraries built up incrementally over decades seems not just an anachronism, but a different branch of evolution altogether.
For many, having one’s media stored primarily in a format one isn’t comfortable with also affects the way one uses that media. I know a few older people who have all the music they like on their phones. They have streaming service subscriptions. But because it’s no longer on cassettes or CDs – in fact, their houses no longer have players for them – they just listen to music less. I know others who were gifted a Kindle with access to an unlimited range of books, including titles they grew up with that they said they’d longed to read. From what I know, the Kindle experience just didn’t take.
It’s unfortunate – they have more music to listen to, more books to read, more flexibly than ever, yet their lives are somewhat less rich because of this.
Of course isn’t always true. Many people have successfully made this mental shift in media, understanding deeply that the safely and longetivity of the stuff they own is always a matter of tradeoffs. I too have subscribed to a couple of streaming services – for me they’re a great way to discover new and old shows and movies, and a low-friction way of trying out new genres. If I like them, I can always buy and store them!
(ends)