I can't determine just where in the resulting sub-threads to repy, so I'm just replying to myself.
Scope of, um, "boycott": I have lots of material at hand that I've already purchased. That can provide many hours of interest/entertainment. My purpose is not to "empty my life" of such things; it is to reduce the immediate cash flow of these companies. I'll read the book I've already purchased, or rewatch the DVD I liked enough to buy in the first place. Or... go to the library.
Libraries have been receiving somewhat short shrift in the last decade (in the U.S.), although I've read of an uptick in patronage since the economic crisis hit. I support the library model, and I'm not opposed to some purchases being made by libraries who then share the work in a socially and legally codified manner. Libraries have mostly "been on our side", and the side-effect of my boycott lending support to my local libraries would be a welcome one, to me.
"Honest" publishers. I also don't want to lump "everone" into the same boat. I've long been a pretty good patron of O'Reilly Publishing, and I have some works from Manning, Pragmatic Programmers, etc. lying around. All these companies sell me quality works (well, if I pick well) and are willing to give me digital formats free of DRM. Tim's been more than fair in allowing me to "upgrade" my existing printed books to digital format. Such fairness I reciprocate by continuing to support their businesses.
My relationship with media: Actually, this is where I become a bit... "rhetorical", if not disingenuous. I don't actually purchase that much, myself. My cable tv service level is basic, because the pricing works out the same as it would be with Internet-alone and because broadcast reception was poor and vanished altogether when the roof was replaced. Yes, I'm stuck with a cable company for my Internet. Like much of the country, I don't really have a choice. The one competitor -- if they've finally fixed their "last mile" problem to my particular location -- is a major telco whose policies and behavior if anything are actually worse. So, I'm screwed, on this point, as I can't do without the connection.
I don't purchase much music. I mostly listen to what I have.
DVD's, I also only purchase a handful every few years.
My one other consistent source of active spending is Netflix. I feel for them, being stuck between the entertainment industry, the cable companies and telco's, and viewers -- their users. Their position reminds me in the abstract of the recurrent admonition: "Don't be a share-cropper." However... those dollars are flowing to the entertainment industry. In the form of Netflix subscriber levels and revenue, they represent a distinct and readily -- frequently -- measured metric. And Netflix recent bumblings have chilled me somewhat in my support -- in part, regardless of how much I like them, I've come to perceive just how badly, fundamentally, their model is broken when viewed in the current context.
So... do I drop to a minimum level, or pull the plug altogether? They maintain one's existing queue's for 18 months, so I wouldn't have to reconstruct those -- and they are also save-able as a simple web page. They make it pretty easy to leave -- to their credit.
I guess a primary concern about my relationship to media is that I find myself too often settling for the crappy distraction of the basic cable service, because it's there and is immediate. I don't discover some interesting new music because I'm not purchasing the latest equipment and streaming and giving Jobs, now Cook, his pound of flesh, etc.
As it is, I let too much crap into my life. And yes, Mz, I know the situation of seeking, needing simple, mindless distraction from discomfort.
Here's the thing, though. That movie, that song, is still available next year. Still new -- with that initial joy of discovery -- to me. And sometimes, the slight remove means I can skip the crap and let the cream filter to the top before I partake.
It's hard to be social, I guess, when you're disconnected. And part of being young is to be social, if not more actively so nonetheless in a different, more novel mode engendering new contacts and relationships.
But the current situation -- SOPA et al. -- threatens a lot of that novelty. The coolest stuff mostly doesn't come from the maw of Disney -- not once you're old enough to make your own purchases. And we're not talking forever. We're talking some weeks or months. Which could be novel in itself.
Don't purchase that album or DVD. Go see a local band. Check out the theater. I'm fortunate in that where I live, there's tons of it at reasonable price being put on by people of every generation.
I apologize for placing such an early morning hazed ramble on HN. But, at a first pass, there's my response. Make it about choice, and quality. Make it novel and something to do. Turn the "absence" into a positive, or several positives. And take a swing at the knees of these bastards who want to spend us into their suck.