According to Toffler (1980, p 266) prosumption came about after the separation of the producer and consumer drove a wedge into society. Not long after though, he believed the capitalist world was moving away from this separation and into its "primordial economic form" of prosumption (Ritzer, G & Jurgensen, N, 2010, p. 17). The modern society is what Ritzer (2010, p. 17) calls the "prosumer society" in which we all produce and consume the same aspects that make up our identity.
So how exactly are we prosumer’s? How does it form our identity?
Ritzer gives multiple examples of the prosumer society that we live in like:
· - Being a caller on a call-in radio show
· -Using do it yourself medical technologies
· -Being part of reality TV
This has expanded to the internet as well with sites like Facebook and Instagram allowing users to create the social structure of their account and interact with people they allow within their structure.
People are allowing their identity being consumed online line by producing the identity that they wish people to consume. There is no longer a middle man to form the identity of a subject or person for you as this new age of the public sphere is allowing people to make their own decisions.
Any prosumer in the social world though needs to be aware that their identity isn't only being consumed by those we let into our social structure. For example Facebook is profiting off our use of their web code. Facebook sells the information we share on their infrastructure as a trade for them letting us use their design for free.
Third parties now have our information which allows advertising companies to use the internet and advertise specific products to us. This is based on what we say on Facebook, what we like and who we become friends with (their information). If you like a whole heap of dance music artists, you’ll be flooded with ads about dance music. Prosumption can be a dangerous idea, that can definitely affect you if not upfront.
References:
Ritzer, G & Jurgenson, N 2010, 'Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The nature of capitalism in the age of the digital 'prosumer'', Journal of Consumer Culture, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 13-32
Toffler, A 1980 The Third Wave., William Morrow, New York
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the way that your post had a sense of build up, from the initial theories of prosumption with Toffler to Ritzer's model while then applying that to ourselves. The use of your questions effectively drew me in, and made me want to know more about how prosumption affects our identity. Additionally, I found it very interesting how you said there is no middleman to form our identity, as we now have the power to make our own decisions. If you are thinking of expanding this for your scholarly post, it may be a good idea to expand on what this middleman might be.
Lastly, don't forget to put a reference list at the end of your posts :) otherwise nice job, very easy to read!
Hi Chris, I found this an engaging post and felt it addressed the important issues relating to this topic. Similar to Brittany, I was drawn into reading the rest of our post due to the questions you posed relating to what it means to be a 'prosumer' and how it affects us. Your discussion about how we are in control of our identities courtesy of social media sites fascinated me and also raised another interesting issue relating to 'prosumption'. Add the reference list to the bottom of your post and you have done a great job.
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ReplyDeleteHi Chris!
ReplyDeleteOverall this point was engaging and showed a good understanding of the topic. It was great that you gave an introduction to the terms and also built up to the more complex ideas as you went throughout the post! You've used interesting ideas to discuss prosumption and I think that majority if not all people that read this post would find it relatable! The only thing you could have added would be some images or a video throughout the post just to break up the text but besides from that I found the post really interesting and beneficial to read.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteAs someone who neglected to do the readings I found this a really great summary in explaining exactly what 'prosumption' is. Through this you engaged in some really nice discussion and leading points to the last point of Facebook. This was important in the discussion of what 'prosuming' actually is and what we must be aware of as a consequence.
Engaging expression and writing style, however a few more hyperlinks and pictures would have enhanced the layout and overall presentation.