Society has changed. Maybe it's not so strange, it changes all the time and you just have to keep up with it. However, we are in an era right now where development is moving forward extremely quickly. Where some things are good and others less good. The expression, it was better before, I think is often appropriate. Not only when it comes to quality. If you were born in the 80s or earlier, do you remember the Nokia 3310? The phone you could throw against the wall without it breaking. The ones we have today seem to break as soon as you accidentally hit one edge. However, we have significantly better content and cameras today than we had then.
What I have reflected on, which I think has changed only in the last 10 years, I said that the development is going fast now, is that money is going up everywhere. You have to pay, pay and pay even more for services you barely use. I reflected on this when I just bought a new computer. A normal computer to write on, edit some videos, store some pictures on, so nothing fancy but for home use. What I discovered when I took the computer on installments is that you first have a set-up fee for taking it on installments. I think that sum grows every year. Then you have an invoice fee on the fee even though the invoice comes online. Previously, the invoice fee only came if you asked to have a paper with the invoice mailed to you. So a way for the company to add an extra cost that is really unjustified as the set-up fee should cover the administration costs surrounding the purchase. I buy that you get an invoice fee if you get a paper invoice because someone has to pay for the paper and to drive the envelope with the paper out to the home, but I don't buy this cost if you get the invoice online because that cost should be covered by the setup cost.
If we continue on the topic of computer, I have an antivirus program. What I noticed on my new computer is that now the antivirus company wants to be paid to fix the problem. So my question is of course, what do I pay for each year? Do I pay for them to tell me I have a problem that I then have to pay even more money to have fixed. Then I could just as easily ignore having an anti-virus program from the very beginning, so I wouldn't partly have to pay and partly avoid the headache of having a lot of problems. But talented as I am, I dare not cancel the antivirus program. Now I know what the problem is, even if I don't want to pay extra to fix the problem.
I also saw another important point with the new computer. I chose not to buy the Office program right away because, one, it was out of stock and two, I wanted to wait a few months and buy it in cash without spending the sum on installments. What happened was that I was blocked from my email until I paid. I tried with the phone but it didn't work there either so I thought, but I have paid for the Office program on my old computer so then the mail should work there. But you know what, it didn't. I was blocked even on the computer where I had a paid Office program from before. I think that's an ugly one cost because I paid for the program there but still couldn't use it and the company that has Office knows that in today's society everyone needs their email. In Sweden, we get a lot of information sent to our email. We are thus locked into having to pay these costs whether we want to or not. My question then is of course, where is our freedom to decide about our own money? If I want to be integrated into society, why do I have to pay money to be integrated? Is it then so strange that people without money feel outside society, no the answer is a given. We pay money to live.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Let me know in the comments section.
