I don't make a big distinction between FOSS vs proprietary. Those who write the code owns it. They should have the full freedom to keep it closed source, sell the code, code for a company or release it to the world under any license from Unlicense/MIT to AGPL.
What is important to me is what I get from the code and the price I pay for it. I consider the pros and the cons and usually decide to go with open source options. When software has many eyes on it, the security and privacy is what usually wins. Sometimes the closed source proprietary software and services offer far better features and I am happy to use them and pay for them.
The Loss of Ownership
A very unhealthy trend of the modern times is that there are less and less opportunities to own a product. I'm fully supportive of developing rental models to make things affordable to more users. I only dislike the lack of option to truly own a product without having to pay a subscription fee every month. On many occasions I don’t even need the new features and cloud services. I have local storage and my own cloud storage I can use.
I am using LibreOffice Writer to write this article. I cannot speak to my microphone and make the software write for me. If I use Microsoft Word, I will be able to do that. I am loosing few benefits because I embraced LibreOffice many years ago. On the other hand I have simple lightweight software that respect privacy. I don’t have to a pay a single penny. There is no subscription and I still own the software! It was provided by the amazing and generous developers who collaborated to create LibreOffice.
Open Source in The Fight to Own Things
Take a look at what is being shoved down people's throats. People should be completely free to choose whatever they like as long as it does not violate the Non Aggression Principal. This includes people making stupid choices such as using products of Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, Meta, Amazon and rest of Big Tech. Even new startups are aspiring to follow the footsteps of Big Tech.
Open source software does not have subscription problem or an adware problems. If the code is open source, there will be people who release a more private, secure and ad free version that functions better. Ever since I started using F-Droid and Linux, the overall quality of the software I end up using increased; not decreased.
Vote With Your Wallet
Voting in election are not going to make a big difference. Most people are not voting for freedom. Even most of the people who are against Big Tech are simply vying to give power to governments which are either worse than Big Tech or merged with Big Tech and other Industrial Complexes to the point where it is difficult to discern where one begins and the other end. Take a look at what Twitter files revealed. We need to expect this to be the norm regarding every large corporation unless proven otherwise.
Not paying for a product does not mean you are not generating economic activity. The manufacture of your laptop already paid for the Windows license and added it to the price tag. Even if you install an OS without a license key, you are still providing ad space to Microsoft.
There are many ways to monetize non paying users. That is why we should try not to be users in the first place. We may not be able to achieve this 100%. I use Google products like YouTube and occasionally that happens on an app that does not have the ad blocking of Brave. There is no need to be perfectly opted out or become paranoid about Surveillance Industrial Complex to become make an economic impact.
Have You Tried Linux?
These options are worth checking out. Depending whether you are already tech savvy or not, you may have to avoid some options. Ubuntu has become like the Windows among Linux Distros. Many other distros like Mint are based on Ubuntu which improving upon the what Ubuntu provide.
There is absolutely no need to install Linux on your device. You can simply use it through a USB drive and play around with it. There is the option to try them out in a Virtual Machine. Depending on how powerful your computer is, you could be on a usable desktop in a minute using a VM.
Once you are in Linux, you will be forced to use more open source software that are not covered in ads, tracking or other unsavory practices of Big Tech. Check out Parabolic. This is a very simple way to download videos from whether it is YouYube or PornHub. Have your been through the pain of downloading videos using proprietary software or some web page? Open source versions ended up being a better product.
At Least Work Based on Rational Self Interest
Seek better software. Many of them are open source. Linux is the world’s largest software project and even Microsoft use it on the most profitable part of their business (cloud services).
@kencode is working hard to develop HiveCast as an alternative to YouTube. I highly recommend you support Proposal 274 on DHF and help create good decentrazlied alternative. But I cannot reccomend you abandon YouTube. The selection of content is superior there.
Using LibreOffice or Brave are the most superior option for most people. Using $HIVE as infrastructure to build games or social media DAPPs are a superior option than most other blockchains. Even Linux has started to become the superior option for the demographic who are capable of engaging in DeFi and care enough to have some privacy in their life.
If we can get people to act on their own self interest and use the software and services that the best instead of the most used, we can create a large enough financial impact on the entities that are working to take away our freedoms. Actions can make a far bigger difference than simply talking about it. I have made my moves. They were not done in haste. I tool my time and learned slowly. That is the better path for most people. That is the path I recommend my readers.