In recent years, companies have radically transformed their business model: they have shifted their focus from selling products to offering services based on monthly subscriptions. This change has not only modified how we consume, but has also given rise to a digital economy where user data has become the most valuable resource. A paradigmatic example of this transition is the replacement of video stores, such as Blockbuster, by platforms such as Netflix, which offer unlimited access to series and movies in exchange for a monthly fee.
Browsing YouTube, the Trending Tony channel caught my attention with an analysis of companies that have adopted this model. From music apps like Spotify to software that used to be purchased in bundles and is now accessible only through subscriptions (such as Adobe Creative Cloud), the phenomenon spans multiple industries. The trend is clear: companies are seeking to build customer loyalty through continuous services, but with an additional and less visible condition: the constant exchange of personal data.
In his book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari sheds light on how data shapes the future of the market and humanity. Published in 2015, this bestseller explores how artificial intelligence and big data are redefining our economic and social relationships. Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, argues that data has taken over the role once held by consumer goods, cementing itself as the main driver of contemporary capitalism.
According to Harari, in the information age, the value of data lies in its ability to predict and shape human behavior. This is directly linked to the subscription model: when a user chooses to pay for a monthly service, the company not only earns recurring revenue, but also a constant flow of information about their consumption habits, preferences and usage times. Netflix, for example, uses advanced algorithms to analyze what we watch, for how long and when we pause a chapter. This data not only makes it possible to optimize recommendations, but is also essential for the design of original content that guarantees the permanence of users on the platform.
The concept of "dataism" introduced by Harari becomes relevant here. This new secular religion, as he calls it, positions the flow of data as the essence of all forms of life and economic activity. Subscription companies, far from being mere service providers, become intermediaries in this flow, obtaining critical information that they can monetize or use to consolidate their market dominance.
The model also raises ethical questions. What about user privacy? While consumers enjoy the convenience of unlimited access, the information we give up in exchange is in the hands of large corporations whose transparency is often questionable. In Argentina, where digitization is advancing rapidly, local companies are beginning to replicate these practices. National streaming platforms, delivery applications and cloud storage services already operate under the same principle: subscription-based loyalty, based on data collection.
However, this model also transforms our subjective experience, a topic addressed by South Korean philosopher Byung-Chul Han in The Agony of Eros, published in 2012. Han, a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts and a renowned critic of contemporary capitalism, explores in this essay how neoliberal and technological logic erodes our capacity to desire. According to Han, in a society ruled by instant consumption and unlimited access, deep desire, which requires time and mystery, is relegated. In the subscription model, where everything is at the click of a button, the act of waiting or longing loses its value.
Han wrote The Agony of Eros as a warning against a world where human relationships and our subjectivity are colonized by market dynamics. In this context, subscriptions are not only an economic mechanism, but also a tool of emotional and psychological control. Continuous consumption eliminates the space for reflection, transforming us into permanently busy users, but disconnected from genuine desire.
The central question is: what does this transition imply for our subjectivity? On the one hand, as Harari argues, we are facing a system where the flow of data defines power and economic relations. On the other hand, as Han warns, this model threatens to empty our capacity to desire of meaning, creating an increasingly superficial and homogeneous society.
Ultimately, the subscription model represents much more than a change in the way we consume. It is a phenomenon that redefines economic, political and emotional relationships, marking the course of a humanity caught between the seduction of unlimited access and the loss of its autonomy. Are we prepared to face the consequences of this change? The question remains open.
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