Breaking Free from the Cycle of Subscription Fatigue

Not everything has to be a subscription. In other startling revelations, water is wet.

The tech industry is thirsty for subscriptions. I was grazing my news feed and reflected on the growing use of the subscription model on our daily lives. There’s a larger story here: one of hope and resilience. Possibly even for humanity, but let’s hold off on the heavenly chorus for a moment.

It feels like everything’s for sale, from our daily tools to our entertainment. It’s super easy to feel overwhelmed. The good news is there’s a way to break free, taking back control of our time and money, and possibly, our values. Any idea that starts as, “How do we please shareholders?” is rarely good for you, but you can get out of the trap.

Let’s pick two recent examples.

• Microsoft’s CFO wants to turn Xbox into a subscription business, and some root cause analysis suggests why: their hardware revenue drop of 42%. While Amy’s busy amping up the power of the cloud and the benefits to shareholders of subscriptions, Microsoft has also given the service a well-above-inflation price increase (which the FCC aren’t happy about). Spoilers: you don’t need this service. $240/year will buy you about four full price retail games, which you will actually want (rather than tolerate because they’re part of the subscription). If you’re upset at a company incinerating jobs on the pyre of quarterly growth, you’ve got options! And they’re good ones. Don’t subscribe.
• That pales in comparison to the true clownage over at Logitech, who want to sell you a forever mouse at a monthly price. This, in the true manner of corporate walkbacks, was apparently a shower thought. I can only imagine the consumer rage if the mouse you bought stopped working because you stopped paying $15/mo. Spoilers: you wouldn’t need this service. All mice should be forever mice, and Logitech’s just another commodity hardware vendor. You can buy a mouse from, like, 300 other different companies. Hell, I bet the PC you bought came with one.

The real problem here isn’t that execs are high on their own supply, or engaging in trial ballooning to see which terrible ideas might pass to keep the numbers going up at 30% YoY despite a worldwide recession. The problem is being connected to the constant news cycle of all-the-things that drives us to anger or depression.

However! For every company doing a dick move, there are a bunch of others making headway for humans.

• Ecosia is a search engine that plants trees. They’ve planted two. Hundred. MILLION. Trees. Their business model is based on climate action; they invest 20% in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and grassroots activism; the remaining 80% goes towards planting and protecting trees around the world. All that, and their search results ain’t half bad.
• Grameen Bank provides loans to entrepreneurs in developing nations. As of January 2022, the total borrowers numbered nearly 9.5 million, and over 95% of those are women. In 1998 the Bank’s Low-cost Housing Program won a World Habitat Award. In 2006, the bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Charity: Water brings clean water to people who need it. As of 2019, they’d raised $370 million, converting that into 111,000 water projects in 29 countries. Why? Because founder Scott Harrison’s volunteer work led him to recognise problems surrounding education, safety, and health traced back to a lack of clean water and sanitation.
• Hell, even Ben & Jerry’s advocates for fair trade practices. They’ve been making ice cream from certified fair trade ingredients since 2005. This is a company deciding that (despite the cost!) the way for growers to get their fair share in the face of big agriculture is to opt in (they’re paying more!) to fair price small-scale farmer’s products (you ever think Nestle would do that?!). This means those farmers are still in business, which means the communities those farmers support are still there, too.

The reason why you don’t hear about these things is because they’re not driving anxiety into your news feed. And the answer to that is to … disconnect. Disconnecting from doomscrolling reduces exposure to negativity (and possibly increases inner peace). However!

I promised you something about hope for humanity, didn’t I? It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of megacorps, but our individual actions add up. Every time we prioritise our values over convenience or price (I’m looking at you, Prime Day shoppers), we’re creating a ripple through society. We’re choosing to preserve our well-being by resisting manipulation. We don’t have to be the size of Ben & Jerry’s to make a difference.

I’d like to propose a new approach: let’s not just critique subscription models. That’s easy. Instead, let’s choose (or create!) alternative systems that prioritise people over profits. By supporting businesses (especially local ones) that share your values and treat you with kindness and compassion, we can build a world where everyone has access to the things they need. We’ll drive choice right back into the system (because subscriptions are a form of lock-in; they stop you using someone else’s product while your time, attention, and money are serving at the corrupt altar of, probably, Cthulhu).

Me? I’ve cancelled our streaming, Xbox, and PlayStation subscriptions. The year of the backlog continues to deliver. I’m hammering my library card. Join me. Take control of your life, one subscription, one decision at a time.

Honestly? Your children will thank you for it.