If They Don’t Pay, They Don’t Read.

I don’t usually write about stuff like this. Usually because it would get me in trouble. I talk about it instead!

Most of the time, I’m writing about psychology, philosophy, or some random question that decided to move into my brain rent-free for a week.

But this has been annoying me for days. So now I’m writing because talking about it isn’t exactly helping me.

The other day, I was trying to read a story on Medium.

Trying.

Because it was member-only.

And before anyone misunderstands me, I have absolutely no issue with that. If someone spends their time writing an article, they should be allowed to decide how people access it. That’s their choice.

What annoyed me was something the author said in the beginning, before Medium cut me off.

They basically said that people who don’t pay aren’t allowed to read their stories and that people should stop trying to get information for free.

Then I looked at the responses.

A lot of people agreed.

And all I could think was:

Where exactly do you want me to get the money from?

Genuine question.

I’m a teenager.

Do people think I have some secret source of income nobody told me about?

Am I supposed to discover money hidden behind a cushion and use it because I want to read an article?

Because if that’s the big idea, no one told me that.

The thing that frustrates me is the assumption behind comments like that.

The assumption that if someone doesn’t have a membership, they’re choosing not to support writers.

The assumption that the only possible explanation is that they’re trying to get something for free.

But what if they just can’t afford it?

I know that’s not a particularly exciting answer, but sometimes it’s the correct one.

I’m in a weird position because I’m not just a reader.

I’m a writer on Medium too.

I spend time researching articles. I spend time writing them. I spend way too much time rewriting sentences because they sound weird for reasons I can’t explain.

Yet I still don’t have a membership.

Not because I think writers shouldn’t get paid. (Not that I would complain if I got some money out of it.)

Not because I don’t value other people’s work.

I just don’t have unlimited money.

And honestly, neither do a lot of people.

Not everyone reading articles online is a working adult with complete control over their finances.

I’m a teenager. Plenty of readers are students too. Not everyone can casually add another subscription to their list.

And honestly? Who can?

Everything is a subscription now.

At this point, I swear I could blink, and somebody would charge me £4.99 a month for the privilege.

But that’s not even the biggest issue.

The problem is acting like everyone on the other side of that paywall is somehow doing something wrong.

The amount of attitude behind it is what annoys me.

Because wanting to learn something isn’t wrong. Wanting to read an interesting article isn’t wrong. Being unable to afford another subscription isn’t wrong.

Every time I see someone say that people should stop trying to get information for free, I keep coming back to the same thought:

Not everybody is refusing to pay.

Some people simply can’t.

And those are two very different things.

So no, I don’t think every non-paying reader is a freeloader.

Sometimes they’re just a teenager trying to read something useful without being expected to pull a subscription fee out of thin air.

Welp, lemme know what you think about this.

Because if you like this… maybe I’ll write more!