Some social problems are blatantly obvious in daily life, while others are longer-term, more corrosive and perhaps mostly invisible. Lately I've been worrying about a problem of the latter kind: the erosion of personal ownership and what that will mean for our loyalties to traditional American concepts of capitalism and private property.
The main culprits for the change are software and the internet. For instance, Amazon's Kindle and other methods of online reading have revolutionised how Americans consume text. Fifteen years ago, people typically owned the books and magazines they were reading. Much less so now. If you look at the fine print, it turns out that you do not own the books on your Kindle. Amazon.com does.
https://www.afr.com/opinion/americans-own-less-stuff-because-of-the-internet-and-thats-a-worry-20180812-h13vkdInteresting perspective.
There are many similar trends. Consumers used to be able to repair their own cars. Today its more difficult with automakers making an effort to lock consumers out of their own vehicles. Specialized computer hardware is often necessary to diagnose issues much less fix them. While tesla and Elon Musk have achieved some good in terms of shifting power consumption from internal combustion engines in vehicles to more efficient powerplants with less of a carbon footprint, tesla is also known for having very stringent terms of purchase. In some ways tesla owners are locked out of their own vehicles by software and EULA.
There are producers of goods who want to completely shut down 2nd hand markets where products are sold in flea markets or yard sales.
There are other examples of consumers perhaps losing rights and freedom. While large corporations, banks and governments perhaps are gaining more power.
Is it a trend people should worry about? That's up for debate. I think its something not many are conscious or aware of.