Do you ever feel like you’re becoming more of an unpropertied renter in the digital space? Whether it's our Android or iPhone device, our Windows 11 computer, our preferred streaming platforms, or social media platform, stuff always seems to be shifting beneath our feet; we use those platforms, but we don’t really control that software. If you like a feature on Facebook, for example, but Meta wants to scrap it, Meta wins.
I have been thinking about this lately, and in my view, the solution is obvious: use more free (as in freedom) software, also known by some as open source software (the two overlap, but there are some differences). The Free Software Foundation outlines four freedoms that you have with free software compared to proprietary software, including:
The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
