People say "the algorithm is bad! it wants to control you!", and then they spend twelve hours a day on Facebook and Instagram.
Then "wake up sheeple!" gets posted on Facebook, right in among the usual brainrot.
They say one thing and do something else. That bothers me.
People can absolutely stand up for something, as long as it's not inconvenient for them. Linux is a great example. "I want to abandon Microsoft, but my music player doesn't work on Linux, so I can't use it!" "I tried Linux for a while, but my new headset doesn't work on it." The complaint is really a shield. If the thing gets in the way of their day, they at least get to say they tried, and nobody can hold the principle against them.
I've been saying this for a long time, and I see it all the time. People talking about working out. They get the praise, "oh yeah, working out is a great goal! well done for taking that first step!", and now they've already had their kick out of it. The talking is where the reward is, so the doing never happens.
Gaming makes it the loudest. "DAMN SONY FOR ABANDONING PHYSICAL MEDIA!" and then they keep buying digital games. How many do you think will actually skip GTA 6 because Sony stopped pressing discs? In my eyes, those people are 100% on Sony's side.
"STOP KILLING GAMES!" and then they keep buying games they don't own. How many actually started buying from GOG instead of Steam after screaming that they support Stop Killing Games?
They sign up for the thing and scream about it, to feel good about themselves. That's it.
"Damn these subscriptions! In five years you'll need a subscription just to use the toilet!" and then they get ten more monthly subscriptions.
To be clear, I would be absolutely fine with 99% of people not caring and saying nothing. Nobody owes the internet an opinion. What bothers me is the gap between what people say they value and what they actually do. People want to identify with values and morals that sound good. They love taking sides and attaching tags and labels to everything. But they can't keep up with it when it costs them anything.
Sony said in its July earnings that the backlash is having zero effect on their business. I would not be surprised if less than 1% of users cancelled their PS Plus subscription after the announcement. And the same people will complain about subscriptions too.
Words tell you what people want to believe about themselves.
Tradeoffs tell you what they actually prioritize.