數(shù)字時(shí)代：只求享用，不求持有

By+Emily+Tamkin

或許大部分人都會(huì)理所當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為電子書(shū)比紙質(zhì)書(shū)便宜，在網(wǎng)上付費(fèi)看電影比購(gòu)買(mǎi)電影光盤(pán)便宜。所以當(dāng)亞馬遜上的電子書(shū)定價(jià)比紙質(zhì)書(shū)還要高，下載高清版電影比購(gòu)買(mǎi)二手光盤(pán)還要貴時(shí)，很多人感到疑惑不解。但如果換個(gè)角度思考，電子版帶給我們的除了信息內(nèi)容，還有便利舒適的使用體驗(yàn)，也許你就會(huì)覺(jué)得多付的錢(qián)是值得的。

Were increasingly paying extra to get the digital version of a book or movie.

我們正在為數(shù)字版書(shū)籍或電影支付越來(lái)越多的錢(qián)。

Imagine， for a moment， that you want to buy The Complete Works of Primo Levi1 edited by talented translator Ann Goldstein. If you were to buy a new version of the hardcover2 collection on Amazon， the price is$58.40. If， however， you decided that rather than adorning3 your shelves with Levi， you wanted to download it to your e-reader， saving yourself paper and time， you would need to pay $59.49. It would cost you more not to physically own the books.

Of course， its just a difference of $1.09. But spend some time on Amazon and a trend becomes clear： Many （though certainly not all） digital versions cost more than their physical counterparts4. The Blu-ray Disc of the Christmas classic Love Actually costs a very reasonable $8.68， but to download and buy the HD5 version on Amazon Video costs $14.99. （To download and rent it costs $3.99， while a used version is only$2.37）. Download Beyoncés6 Lemonade from Apple to your iPhone for $17.99， but get the CD on Amazon for just $15.76.

Certainly this is far from the case in every instance—there are lots of examples of the digital version being cheaper than the physical. But the list will only get longer， raising the question： Why are we increasingly paying more money to not actually have the thing were buying？ Amazon and Apple acknowledged receipt of but did not respond to requests for comment. But while we cannot know their official answers， we can nevertheless speculate7 as to why were now paying more to own without physically owning.

For one thing， weve reached a point at which its the digital version that wont let us down. Mark Dean， assistant professor in the Department of Economics at Columbia University， surmised in an email that while he could try to create “some clever behavioral econ explanation，”8 he thinks the real answer is that we are paying more to download because we are learning to trust the digital， easily available version. It used to be that to have the physical copy was to have reliability and consistency. But that isnt true anymore， he said. The internet is now reliable， and with it Amazon and Netflix9. In fact， theyre more durable than the physical copy， as anyone who has scratched10 a CD or had a package get lost in the mail or misplaced a beloved book would likely agree.

Weve also come to see the digital version as superior in some ways. Mark Armstrong， professor of economics at the University of Oxford， noted in an email that well shell out11 for things like being able to quickly consume a product wherever one wants， or clicking on a word reading to see its definition， or skipping to the place in a book where a character first appears. Furthermore， he said， digital copies dont take up any space in a home office or university library， and perhaps more importantly， its the “only way to get immediate access from your sofa.” All of which is to say that we pay more for digital copies not only because they are more reliable， but also because they are more convenient.

Physical formats， on the other hand， so quickly become outdated. Richard Wilks， anthropologist and co-director of Indiana Universitys Food Institute， noted in a phone interview that millennials （of course its the millennials） have seen their parents lug VHS tapes to Goodwill.12 In other words， they have seen， and are currently seeing， the technologies with which they themselves grew up become obsolete13. Why pay extra for the DVD when you know your next computer probably wont have a DVD drive？

This is true， of course， true of movies and music， but not of books. What is true of all three， however， is that the digital version is often more trusted and more convenient， and that the digital is an accepted part of the way we live now. （Consider how increasingly surprising it is to see someone proudly display DVDs and records. E-books make it harder to show off your erudite14 tastes， alas.）

But not everyone can afford to jump on the ownership by absence bandwagon15， since not everyone has access to that version in the first place. According to the Pew Research Center， 13 percent of adult Americans do not use the internet， and 19 percent of those people said they dont do so because its cost prohibitive16. To Aleenah Mehta， a research fellow at the University of California， Berkeleys Haas Institute， this suggests a third driver behind this trend： People are paying more because the cost is less important than performance and participation in the new economy. That is， this trend exists because people always pay more to be part of the new cool club， and today the cool club is digital.

Whether or not it is indeed hipper to own the digital version， the reality remains that if the most accessible version of culture is 1） not accessible to everyone and 2） the least affordable， then ownership by absence becomes exclusionary.17 Not everyone gets to download culture.

We may be paying a premium for the convenience of digital objects—but theres another cost beyond the extra couple of bucks youre shelling out up-front.18 Mark Lemley， professor of law and director of the Program in Law， Science and Technology at Stanford Law School， said in an email， “customers get fewer rights in a digital copy than they do in a physical copy. I can loan， resell， or tear into pieces my physical book or CD. But the law wont let me do the same thing with the digital copy I ‘buy. ” Were paying more to be legally able to do less. Or， as Aaron Fellmeth has put it in Future Tense， “You bought it， but you dont own it.”

This， qualms19 serious and subtle aside， is the way we pay to own now and may be for the foreseeable future. That doesnt mean weve become any less captivated20 by consumption. As Wilks said， possession is fundamentally human， and while we may change the concept of what and how we possess， well still be possessed by possessions.

We still own things， in other words. We may no longer show how well-read21 we are by displaying hardcover Primo Levi on our bookshelves. But now we can bring his work with us everywhere， without lugging around those heavy books. And well even pay more to do just that.

我偶爾會(huì)設(shè)想，假如你想購(gòu)買(mǎi)由優(yōu)秀翻譯家安·戈德斯坦編輯的《普里莫·萊維全集》，亞馬遜上的新版精裝書(shū)售價(jià)為58.40美元。但是如果你認(rèn)為與其用萊維的書(shū)裝飾書(shū)架，不如把它下載到電子閱讀器上，這樣還節(jié)省紙張和時(shí)間，那么你需要支付59.49美元，比購(gòu)買(mǎi)紙質(zhì)書(shū)還要貴。

當(dāng)然，價(jià)格只相差1.09美元，如果你在亞馬遜上花點(diǎn)時(shí)間，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)一個(gè)趨勢(shì)日益明顯：很多產(chǎn)品（當(dāng)然不是全部）的數(shù)字版價(jià)格高于其實(shí)體版。經(jīng)典圣誕愛(ài)情片《真愛(ài)至上》的藍(lán)光碟定價(jià)相當(dāng)合理——8.68 美元，而從“亞馬遜視頻”上購(gòu)買(mǎi)下載高清版需要花14.99 美元（租看下載這部電影是3.99 美元，而二手光盤(pán)只需2.37 美元）。從蘋(píng)果商店下載歌手碧昂絲的專輯《檸檬水》到iPhone上需要支付17.99 美元，而從亞馬遜上買(mǎi)張CD只要15.76美元。

當(dāng)然很多時(shí)候并非如此——很多產(chǎn)品的數(shù)字版還是比實(shí)體版便宜。但是數(shù)字版價(jià)格高于實(shí)體版的產(chǎn)品只會(huì)越來(lái)越多，讓我們不禁發(fā)問(wèn)：為什么要花越來(lái)越多的錢(qián)去購(gòu)買(mǎi)不能實(shí)際持有的產(chǎn)品呢？亞馬遜和蘋(píng)果公司都承認(rèn)收到過(guò)相關(guān)提問(wèn)，但沒(méi)有給出答復(fù)。盡管不知道他們的官方回答，但我們還是可以推測(cè)為什么我們要支付更多的錢(qián)去購(gòu)買(mǎi)不能實(shí)際持有的東西。

一方面，現(xiàn)在的情況是數(shù)字版一般不會(huì)讓我們失望。哥倫比亞大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)系副教授馬克·迪恩曾在一封郵件中做出猜想，他嘗試給出“某種合理的經(jīng)濟(jì)行為解釋”，認(rèn)為人們支付更多錢(qián)去下載的真正原因在于我們?cè)絹?lái)越信賴容易獲取的數(shù)字版本。在過(guò)去，實(shí)體產(chǎn)品意味著可靠性和持久性，然而現(xiàn)在情況變了，迪恩說(shuō)?；ヂ?lián)網(wǎng)變得可靠，使得亞馬遜和奈飛也讓人信賴。其實(shí)數(shù)字版比實(shí)體版更加持久，相信每個(gè)刮花過(guò)CD、快遞中丟過(guò)包裹或忘記把心愛(ài)的書(shū)放在哪里的人都會(huì)同意這一點(diǎn)。

同時(shí)我們也認(rèn)識(shí)到數(shù)字版在某些方面的優(yōu)越性。哈佛大學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)教授馬克·阿姆斯特朗在一封郵件中指出，我們其實(shí)在為一些體驗(yàn)付費(fèi)，比如隨時(shí)隨地可快速消費(fèi)的產(chǎn)品，或是閱讀過(guò)程中通過(guò)點(diǎn)擊某一單詞查看其釋義，或是快速跳到書(shū)中某個(gè)人物首次出場(chǎng)的地方。他進(jìn)一步說(shuō)，數(shù)字版不會(huì)占據(jù)家庭辦公室或大學(xué)圖書(shū)館的空間，也許更重要的是，它是“窩在沙發(fā)上就可獲取的唯一方式”。也就是說(shuō)，我們?yōu)閿?shù)字版本支付更高的價(jià)錢(qián)不僅僅因?yàn)槠淇煽啃?，更因?yàn)槠浔憬菪浴?/p>

另一方面，實(shí)體版本迅速地變得過(guò)時(shí)。人類(lèi)學(xué)家兼印第安納大學(xué)食品研究院聯(lián)席主任理查德·威爾克斯在電話采訪中說(shuō)，千禧一代（當(dāng)然是千禧一代）眼看著父母把沉重的VHS錄像帶拖到慈善舊貨店Goodwill賣(mài)掉。換句話說(shuō)，他們都曾經(jīng)或者正在見(jiàn)證伴隨他們長(zhǎng)大的技術(shù)變得過(guò)時(shí)。如果你知道你的下一臺(tái)電腦可能連DVD光驅(qū)都沒(méi)有的時(shí)候，為什么還要花錢(qián)去買(mǎi)DVD呢？

當(dāng)然了，電影和音樂(lè)是這樣，但書(shū)籍情況不同。然而對(duì)于這三樣?xùn)|西來(lái)說(shuō)，共同點(diǎn)在于數(shù)字版通常更值得信賴且更加方便，數(shù)字版產(chǎn)品已成為現(xiàn)代生活方式中已被接受的一部分（想想如果現(xiàn)在還有人高調(diào)地使用DVD和錄像帶，該是多么令人驚訝！電子書(shū)讓你比較難顯擺自己的博學(xué)，嗚呼！）。

但并非每個(gè)人都能有足夠的錢(qián)去趕上這趟“只求享用、不求持有”的時(shí)尚潮流，因?yàn)槭紫炔⒎敲總€(gè)人都能獲取數(shù)字版本。根據(jù)皮尤研究中心，13%的成年美國(guó)人不使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)，這些人中的19%說(shuō)他們不使用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)是因?yàn)槌杀咎?。加州大學(xué)伯克利分校哈斯研究所的研究員阿麗娜·梅塔認(rèn)為，這個(gè)現(xiàn)象揭示了背后促成這一趨勢(shì)的第三個(gè)因素：人們?cè)敢鉃閿?shù)字版支付更高價(jià)格是因?yàn)樵谛陆?jīng)濟(jì)時(shí)代下，價(jià)格沒(méi)有性能和參與感那么重要。換言之，出現(xiàn)這種趨勢(shì)是因?yàn)槿藗冊(cè)敢饣ㄥX(qián)去成為時(shí)尚潮流的一分子，而當(dāng)今潮流就是數(shù)字化。

不管擁有數(shù)字版能否讓人變得更時(shí)髦，事實(shí)就是如果文化產(chǎn)品的所謂最便捷的版本并非人人可得，且價(jià)格令人承擔(dān)不起，那么數(shù)字版本的所有權(quán)就會(huì)具有排他性，因?yàn)椴⒎侨巳硕寄芟螺d。

我們也許為了數(shù)字物品的便捷性支付了額外費(fèi)用——然而，除了首次購(gòu)買(mǎi)多花了點(diǎn)兒錢(qián)之外，你還付出了其他的代價(jià)。斯坦福法學(xué)院的法學(xué)教授及法律、科學(xué)與技術(shù)項(xiàng)目主任馬克·萊姆利在一封電子郵件中寫(xiě)道：“人們從數(shù)字版中獲得的權(quán)利比實(shí)體版少。我可以出借、轉(zhuǎn)賣(mài)甚至撕爛我的紙質(zhì)書(shū)或CD，但法律不允許我用‘購(gòu)買(mǎi)的電子版產(chǎn)品做同樣的事情?！蔽覀兓ǜ嗟腻X(qián)，享有的法律權(quán)利卻更少。也許正如艾倫·費(fèi)爾麥斯在專欄“將來(lái)時(shí)”中所寫(xiě)的那樣：“你購(gòu)買(mǎi)了它，但你并不擁有它?！?/p>

撇開(kāi)一些嚴(yán)肅而隱約的擔(dān)憂，這就是我們現(xiàn)在以及在可預(yù)見(jiàn)的未來(lái)為獲得擁有權(quán)而采取的支付方式。這不意味著消費(fèi)構(gòu)成的誘惑有所減少了。正如威爾克斯所言，占有欲是人類(lèi)的天性，也許占有的內(nèi)容和方式改變了，但我們?nèi)员徽加杏倏亍?/p>

換言之，我們?nèi)匀粨碛袛?shù)字產(chǎn)品。也許我們?cè)僖膊挥猛ㄟ^(guò)書(shū)架上普里莫·萊維的精裝書(shū)來(lái)展現(xiàn)博學(xué)，但現(xiàn)在我們可以將他的作品隨身攜帶，而無(wú)需背著那些沉重的大部頭。為此，我們甚至愿意付更多的錢(qián)。

1. Primo Levi： 普里莫·萊維（1919—1987），猶太裔意大利化學(xué)家、小說(shuō)家，也是納粹大屠殺的幸存者，曾在奧斯維辛集中營(yíng)里被關(guān)押了11個(gè)月，他于1947年出版的處女作《如果這是一個(gè)人》就記錄了那一段生活。

2. hardcover： 硬皮書(shū)，精裝書(shū)。

3. adorn： 裝飾。

4. counterpart： 職位（或作用）相當(dāng)?shù)娜?，?duì)應(yīng)的事物。

5. HD： high definition，（電視或錄像）高清晰度的。

6. Beyoncé： 碧昂絲，美國(guó)著名流行音樂(lè)女歌手。

7. speculate： 推測(cè)，猜測(cè)。

8. surmise： 猜測(cè)，推測(cè)；behavioral： 行為的；econ： economic的縮寫(xiě)。

9. Netflix： 奈飛公司，一家知名在線影片租賃提供商。

10. scratch：（用指甲）撓，抓，（用利器）劃破。

11. shell out： 付款，還賬。

12. lug： 吃力地拖、拉（重物）；VHS： Video Home System 家用錄像系統(tǒng)；Goodwill： 美國(guó)的慈善二手店。

13. obsolete： 老式的，過(guò)時(shí)的。

14. erudite： 博學(xué)的，學(xué)問(wèn)精深的。

15. bandwagon： 風(fēng)尚，潮流。

16. prohibitive：（費(fèi)用或成本）過(guò)分高昂的，負(fù)擔(dān)不起的。

17. hip： 新潮的，時(shí)髦的；exclusionary：排他的。

18. premium： 附加費(fèi)；buck： 美元（非正式）；up-front： 預(yù)付地。

19. qualm： 疑慮，不安，擔(dān)憂。

20. captivate： 迷住，迷惑。

21. well-read： 博學(xué)的。