Possession vs. Access

By looking at the recent developments in the internet and the world in general, I get the feeling the new generation doesn't need possession anymore. They will be just happy by having access to things without the need to be the owner.

With your smartphone, e-book reader or tablet PC you can easily access the newest music video, film or book from an online portal without having a CD, DVD or paper book at your home. If the server goes offline or the streaming portal insolvent you won't have anything. Just the knowledge that the same content most likely will be offered by some other company. And that confidence allows us to set the need for physical objects aside.

Back at the beginning of digital music, first thing to do, was to burn a security CD. Today the security copy is just a digital one on an external hard drive. The content stays in the virtual world. That's a good thing, because we need less ressources for more content. It also helps establishing the idea of sharing. In the virtual world this may be a problem if the sharing is not legal. But that attitude also changes the people itself and becoming more and more usual.

Today there are car and bicycle sharing programmes. There is couch surfing. Knowledging sharing via free online courses (e.g. Class Central) or forums of any kind. The people are learning that you not always loose something when you give something to somebody, but that it could be a win-win-situation. If I give my car to others in times I don't need it, I get some revenue from the time the car would only cost me. And as a user you are happy to only pay the time you need and not the time it stands still in your garage. If everybody gives just a tiny bit, it doesn't hurt anybody, but the multiple effect is huge.

So, some years ago I couldn't imagine that it would be possible to just have a pool of ressources and everybody uses them equally, but the attitude is changing right now and in my opinion that will be how the future looks like.