The point of the subscription economy is ontological. Everything — can now be a service provided at a forever cost. Ownership is often about a transactional completion, where you acquire something and then move on, satisfied with having met your need. It’s finite, with a clear start and end. Subscription, on the other hand, is a perpetual commitment, a continuous cycle that prevents closure. It keeps you tethered, never fully satisfying the need in a permanent sense because the expectation is that you’ll always be engaged, always consuming, always involved. It’s a structure that denies the ability to “move on” because it’s built around an ongoing dependency. In this way, the subscription economy by redefining time also reshape the very nature of “self” 4 replies
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Acquisition is anchored in a linear, finite concept of time—acquiring something, using it, and then moving on. Time feels segmented, with clear phases: acquisition, use, and completion.
Subscription, however, collapses that linear progression into a loop, where time becomes cyclical and ongoing. You’re not moving through distinct phases but are instead perpetually engaged in a continuous experience, where the past and future are tied together by the subscription itself. The structure keeps you rooted in the present moment of consumption, with the future always anticipating more engagement, often without the resolution. It’s an endless feedback loop, where time becomes something you’re always returning to rather than ever truly leaving behind. 1 reply
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