Web 2.0 has initiated a lot of change in our society and has
meant that prosumption, which as Jurgenson and Ritzer (2010) state ‘involves
both production and consumption rather than focusing on either one or the
other’, is a continuously growing trend which is ‘defined by the ability of the
users to produce content collaboratively’. This term should pay tribute to
globalisation for its crucial relevance.
When reading Jurgenson’s and Ritzer’s article about
prosumption and the clear link between it and Web 2.0 the most prominent
example which really sticks out to me is social media. Websites such as
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow for anybody to be the prosumer by not
only creating content such as videos, photos and personal writing, but also
having the ability to comment on other peoples content anywhere in the world.
The users of these websites are both the consumers and producers.
According to
Zajc (2013) ‘the concept of prosumption claims that with the rise of digital
technologies the barriers separating production from consumption have
disappeared’. When watching live TV shows these days, especially reality/talent
shows such as X Factor or Australia’s Got Talent, anybody can submit a comment
on to the shows twitter account and can have it shown up on the screen straight
away declaring how we feel about what is going on at that very moment. The fact
that we as consumers produce content to be aired on that exact show we are
watching contributes to us being prosumers.
YouTube is another
example of prosumption, and perhaps the best example, in this day and age. Its
tagline ‘broadcast yourself’ speaks for itself. Users can shoot and upload
videos of anything and publish them on the website for free and are available
to be watched by literally anybody who wishes to view them. The producers of
the websites are literally the consumers and the latter wouldn’t exist without
the former.
Next time you
comment on a Facebook status, Twitter account or upload an Instagram photo take
a moment to think about just how important your prosumption is to the survival
of these websites.
References
Jurgenson, N., Ritzer, G. 2010, Production, Consumption, Prosumption: The
nature of capitalism in the age of the digital ‘prosumer’, Journal of Consumer
Culture, < https://d2l.deakin.edu.au/d2l/le/content/143750/viewContent/1971888/View
>
Zajc, M. 2013, Social media, prosumption, and dispositives: New mechanisms of the construction
of subjectivity, Journal of Consumer Culture, <http://joc.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/07/03/1469540513493201.full.pdf+html
>
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