Abstract
The term prosumer, first introduced by Toffler in the 1980s, has been developed by sociologists in response to Web 2.0 (the set of technologies that has transformed a predominantly static web into the collaborative medium initially envisaged by Tim Berners-Lee). The phenomena is now understood as a process involving the creation of meanings on the part of the consumer, who re-appropriates spaces that were dominated by institutionalized production, and this extends to the exploitation of consumer creativity on the production side. Recent consumption literature can be re-interpreted through the prosumer lens in order to understand whether prosumers are more creative or alienated in their activities. The peculiar typology of prosumption introduced by Web 2.0 leads us to analyze social capital as a key element in value creation, and to investigate its different online and offline forms. Our analysis then discusses the digital divide and critical consumerism as forms of empowerment impairment.
Highlights
From this point of view, the term prosumer describes someone who, in uniting the production and consumption practices, takes possession of the meaning of content, as well as someone who lives through the process of alienation that is being gradually displaced from the sphere of work into everyday life
As we have seen with Fuchs, while advancing a strong criticism of the political economy of consumption, he seems to recognize in commons based prosumerism a possible solution for the distortions of the capitalist system
A commons based prosumerism may arise from the use of social media to promote civic engagement, and to build relationships based on specific interests and mutual trust, through a process in which citizenship is activated in actions of mutual support
Summary
Prosumerism has recently become a central theme in consumer theory, in that discussions relating to consumers invariably invoke the process of prosumerism. Prosumerism does not clearly define a role, a function of the consumer, but rather a process that expresses itself along a continuum that has become, in the prosumer capitalism society [2], a circular process that induces opposing dynamics From this point of view, the term prosumer describes someone who, in uniting the production and consumption practices, takes possession of the meaning of content, as well as someone who lives through the process of alienation that is being gradually displaced from the sphere of work into everyday life. Being a prosumer today means being involved in the processes of production and consumption and, and more importantly, having a civic role and function resulting from the opportunities that digital technologies and augmented reality provide
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