The Threat of Consumer Autonomy under Personalised Recommendations

Abstract

The twenty-first century is the century of digital technology. Algorithms, big data monitoring, and other technologies are widely applied to the business sector, creating a new business model of surveillance capitalism. This business model is mainly characterized by personalized recommendations, which collect, analyze, and predict consumer preferences to customize advertisements for targeted consumers, guiding and shaping their consumption decisions for profit. Based on existing literature, this paper analyses the impact of personalized recommendations on consumer decision-making in the business model, intending to explore the threat of consumer autonomy under surveillance capitalism. The paper argues that personalized recommendations have a covert intervention in consumers’ decision-making and reflexivity: they deprive consumers of the opportunity to make changes to their personalities and reinforce their inherent preferences. Personalized recommendations also result in discrimination against vulnerable groups and differential pricing, influencing people without their knowledge. In addition, personalized recommendations threaten consumer autonomy by weakening their ability to reflect. To safeguard consumer autonomy, people should take the initiative to improve their digital literacy, reflect on the ideology of instrumental rationality, and actively participate in platform interactions.