How do people get over enshittification?

Carrie
2024-11-13T16:33:07Z

Enshittificiation, or in my own words, "how everything starts to suck on purpose", has somewhat come to rule my life, and thus, ruin my life.

An example I'm thinking about right now is socks. I bought a certain pair of socks probably ten years ago now. I liked them and took for granted that I would be able to purchase this sock or type of sock at any given time. Fast-forward ten years, and the sock is gone. And it feels like no other sock compares.

What's really going on in my mind is, "I know there is better out there, and this is just a choice of the manufacturer to be greedy". Except in this circumstance, the "there" is my fantasy land of the past.

So I ask you all, how do you move on from this? Because what happens for me is I just don't buy new socks, and instead hold on to my tatters (most of them still work decently, but nowhere near as well as they used to). I have tried randomly buying socks to get over my fear of failure (choosing the wrong socks and wasting money and contributing to global waste and contributing to materialism and general clutter in my house, etc.); But this just furthers the issue because I confirm that the other socks are shit and this seems like a fruitless endeavor, as such, in addition to going against my morals and values I listed above.

Thank you for any advice or help!

*EDIT
Thank you all for a rousing discussion, as usual.

Here are some of my Major Takeaways:

Mend and Repair

Buy local/artisinal

Research new brands and check my assumptions since the last time I checked on something.

Fight it - buy vintage, see also: repair and mend.

Custom/Bespoke

Be thankful for the things that I do find that fit my criteria, and buy multiples of those.

Carpe diem - when I find something good really seize the moment and indulge. (This is to combat over analysis paralysis that others shared).

Accept that some of this is the "New Normal" (This is to reduce my distress over the situation).

Lastly, one clarification, I'd like to add that on the subject of clothing or other comforts in particular, it is extra painful to lose something you love, like a clothing item, when you are not an "average" person. Sensory issues, body shapes, and fashion tastes can be so limiting when you are not within the bell curve, and so it is not a trivial subject to mourn the loss of something you once had, and fear that you will never find something like it again.

Comments URL: https://tildes.net/~life/1k0r/how_do_people_get_over_enshittification

Votes: 64

Comments: 138