Written by: Kiara Korten
It was one of the first warm days of spring, a warm breeze flowed through campus, and I felt a deep urge to listen to one of my favorite albums. It is called Tropical Lullaby, an assortment of various artists singing lullabies from Brazil, Cuba, Hawaii, etc. It was played to put me to sleep as a baby and I still enjoy to this day. You can imagine my grief when I found that it had been removed from Spotify. I frantically searched YouTube and other streaming platforms, only to find that it is completely inaccessible virtually. Luckily for me, I still had the CD that my parents bought. When I got home, the first thing I did was dust off my CD player and insert my beloved disk. It became a special moment, something that I had to wait for, something sacred.
All of this got me thinking about our relationship to media and streaming culture. When we no longer own the media we consume, we lose a certain degree of autonomy. Instead of having full control over what we watch, read, or listen to, we now rely on streaming services or digital platforms that can change their terms of service, alter their content libraries, or even remove media at any time. It sucks to have to rely on the whims of corporations that may prioritize profit or algorithm-driven choices.
There is something special and intentional about buying physical media. There are sensations that come with it. Like when you buy a new book and get to relish in that new book smell, being able to grasp the pages and flip them, all of this changes the experience of reading. When you buy a CD, record, or cassette tape, it is a more extensive process to extract sound. You must turn on the machine, press buttons, insert something, even move a needle until you are rewarded with music. This too creates a different, and perhaps more meaningful, experience compared to simply clicking on an app.
Owning physical media gives you the freedom to do with it as you please. When you buy an eBook, it may feel like you own it, but what you’re purchasing is often more of a license to access and read the content rather than full ownership of the file itself. With a physical book, you can lend it to a friend, sell it, or donate it to a library. eBooks, however, are often tied to a specific account and cannot be easily shared.
It is true that streaming services provide instant access, convenience, affordability, and personalized content. eBooks offer portability, customization, and save space. While they may seem like the obvious choice, I would humbly suggest perhaps carving out some time in your life to admire the physical media you own, and the special moments they can offer you.
Featured Image Caption: A map of the world depicting each continent’s most used streaming services.
