Why cloud storage subscriptions keep me worse than local drives ever did

I paid for 2TB on Dropbox for a year and just left files there rotting, but when I moved everything to a 5TB external last month I actually curate it. Is anyone else finding that paying monthly makes hoarding worse instead of better?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah_west391mo ago

and honestly this connects to something I've noticed with all subscriptions now. When I was paying for Spotify I had like 40 playlists with stuff I never touched, but the moment I made a folder of mp3s on my phone I actually listen to albums again. It's like the monthly fee tricks your brain into thinking you're doing something productive just by having the stuff available, so you never actually engage with it. The local drive forces you to make choices, and making choices is what makes you care. I wonder if the subscription model is quietly teaching us to be passive collectors of everything, not just files.

fionafoster1mo ago

Ha! Same with my gym app @hannah_west39, paid for it, never went, then canceled and actually ran outside once.