Here's one counterpoint, that doesn't necessarily argue against the author (I love Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 theming btw!) -- diminishing ownership of the computer experience over the years gave me one great benefit, that is I'm much less reliant/tethered to everything on my computer.
Sure, it's not an effect of themes, for sure. It's everything from, code for all my personal projects are in a git repo somewhere online, important personal media are backed up in the cloud or external drives, text chat history are backed up in some app or in the cloud, music is listened to on some app, etc. So much so that if a laptop of mine is bricked randomly one day, I don't suffer much of a loss (other than spending the money to get a new one).
Back in the 90s or early 00s, it would've been catastrophic to lose a computer. I would have had so many personal files of all kinds, customizations of all kinds, that would be lost. Nowadays, a machine is mostly disposable. If one is lost, I simply get a new one, and all my stuff is online or accessible somewhere. I no longer think of my computer as a prized possession I can't lose, but rather just another tool.
Sure, it's not an effect of themes, for sure. It's everything from, code for all my personal projects are in a git repo somewhere online, important personal media are backed up in the cloud or external drives, text chat history are backed up in some app or in the cloud, music is listened to on some app, etc. So much so that if a laptop of mine is bricked randomly one day, I don't suffer much of a loss (other than spending the money to get a new one).
Back in the 90s or early 00s, it would've been catastrophic to lose a computer. I would have had so many personal files of all kinds, customizations of all kinds, that would be lost. Nowadays, a machine is mostly disposable. If one is lost, I simply get a new one, and all my stuff is online or accessible somewhere. I no longer think of my computer as a prized possession I can't lose, but rather just another tool.