The consumer society, or rather consumerist, underwent a significant change during the last decade.
On the one hand, the modern productive model has reached physiological limits producing more than necessary, in terms of consumption and desire, and on the other hand the serious public debt of many industrialized countries, among these Italy, has determined the application of strict policies on the deficit which have led to a drop in consumptions and, consequently, to a decline of the manufacturing processes.
This state of crisis has originated, in one part of the consumers, the beginning of a critique conscience which determined a greater ability in selecting and identifying the own necessities, for a critical and aware consumption. The others, perhaps the majority, are getting used to it and begin to buy less and worry more about the future.
In this sad passage from the postmodern society to a new model of social consumption, internet – “the web”, is determining a further significant “rift.”
On internet the consumer doesn’t play only the role of a passive spectator as happens in the real world: he chooses, makes comments, shares, read other people’s judgments, communicates, compares the prices, passes the word in a fast way,… practically he is the protagonist of his own purchase. Through internet the consumer has at his disposal a remarkable number of alternatives and a great deal of opinions and information which accompany every choice he made.
Furthermore, web spreads, online as well as in the real world, a new model of purchase based on the use of goods or services and not on the possession, going far beyond the “old system” which had dominated before the rural society and after the industrial/modern/postmodern one.
I, as a user, read the comments of the others and consequently choose the movie to see this evening. Therefore, I am aware of my choice made, let’s say, through a service “on demand” among thousands of titles available. At the end of the vision I don’t retain any right on this film (if not, in some occasions, for a short period of time).
The passive spectator/reader/listener/client becomes an active user who chooses, judges, spreads information and who, at the same time, through services online or on demand or streaming, listens to the music, reads a book, watches a documentary, a film, a TV series.
The novelties are uncountable, the user is aware of the fact that the services are provided in real time without being necessary to reach a particular place to proceed with the purchase and, above all, the patrimony is replaced by the immediate and to term usufruct, not to mention the quantity of the goods available, practically endless.
Today, in this epoch “of transit”, often, for the people who don’t know me in person, I still am what I possess. By the end of the next decade, for those who won’t know me in person, I will be what I will purchase online, what I use, what I reach and what I share /comment.
The option of term purchase, typical of intangible services “on line“, “on demand“, “streaming“, “in cloud“, adopts the main characteristics of web: it is fast, participatory, social, it doesn’t require personal contact, it is delocalized, it can be anonymous. All characteristics amply deepened in the previous articles dedicated to the “new web 2.0.”
To sum up, “I choose what to purchase and when to proceed with it, I don’t stock, I don’t possess, I don’t preserve more than I need.”
The new digital devices, especially the tablets, are the real protagonists of this change. They are determining the global spread of this new model of mass consumption.
The tablets are more “friendly” than the Personal Computers: they are easy to turn on, easy to turn off, in an instant they allow you to access the services without using a desk, they have a good autonomy, they are able to memorize your own passwords accessing both internet, through a browser, and APP, or better, applications expressly saved.
The tablets are not the only type of available tools, a wide range of mobile devices, each of it characterized by specific characteristics (dimensions, weight, video, price), allows each of us to be frequently connected online.
The study made by Deloitte named “State of the Media Democracy” underlines the increasing purchase and use of tablets, despite the economic crisis, paying particular attention to the other devices as well, such as “Laptop” and “smart phone”, also very popular .
The previous model of consumption is in full crisis, everyday thousands of shops close, the consumers don’t buy anymore and they even lose interest in buying, yet, as Deloitte’s study indicates, the consumption crisis doesn’t concern at all the mobile devices with the internet access, which, by the way, is in very fast growth in Italy in 2014 as well. Along with this, increases the number of people able to navigate from a device to another (tablet, smart phone, PC) depending on the situations, which strengthens even more the initial hypothesis and that is the one of the user who is becoming more and more expert and aware of what internet means.
The infographic proposed in this study sustains that 44% of Italians possess one of the followings: a laptop, a tablet or a smart phone, fact that gives him/her the possibility to be connected to internet all day long, in a targeted manner, based on the personal needs of each individual.
Deloitte goes further coining the term of “Digital omnivores” with the purpose of identifying that typology of users who are often connected to internet, hungry of contents, information, social contacts and so on…
To summarize, once again web, through its “smart” tools, positions itself in areas where the “real world” turns out insufficient. The user not only has a smaller economic availability but also a shorter time available and therefore he uses more (online) tools to search for opinions, to compare the prices, to choose, to suggest, to buy in a down market even by means of new contractual forms.
The “old style” consumers are decreasing and the “digital omnivores” are increasing. They are fast, comparative, schizophrenic, never completely satisfied, with a strong tendency towards saving and free on line.
The all while the previous social model, based on the consumption on the spot and the physical possession of the goods, has evidently overcome its peak only to follow a steep descent whose distribution seems to adopt an all-Gaussian tendency.
What if the GNP, the gross national product, will be calculated in the future through the number of online transactions made by its citizens? The statistics of Google Analytics on our transactions would govern our deficit and our spread.
Maybe there is a reason to be concerned about or maybe not.
WorldTwoDotZero
WorldTwoDotZero 