Introduction to Sociology

Spring 2022
Worksheet #4: Marketing, Technology and the “Commodified Self”

Background:

In his analysis, “Dilemmas of Self: Personalized Versus Commodified Experience,” Anthony Giddens’ (1991)
writes: “To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of
desired goods and the pursuit of artificially framed styles of life…The consumption of ever-novel goods becomes
in some part a substitute for the genuine development of self; appearance replaces essence as the visible signs
of successful consumption come actually to outweigh the use-values of the goods and services in question
themselves…As such, it is intrinsically inadequate and ultimately self-defeating, leading to momentary
assuagement of desires and lasting frustration of needs…The market feeds on the unhappiness it generates: the
fears, anxieties and the sufferings of personal inadequacy it induces release the consumer behavior indispensable
to its continuation.”

In her essay, “Beauty Filters Are Changing The Way Young Girls See Themselves,” Tate Ryan-Mosley (2021)
writes: “Krista Crotty is a clinical education specialist…Much of her job over the past five years has focused on
educating patients about how to consume media in a healthier way. She says that when patients present
themselves differently online and in person, she sees an increase in anxiety. ‘People are putting up information
about themselves—whether it’s size, shape, weight, whatever—that isn’t anything like what they actually look
like,’ she says. ‘In between that authentic self and digital self lives a lot of anxiety, because it’s not who you
really are. You don’t look like the photos that have been filtered.’”

Questions to Consider:

1. If the “myth”(or ethos) of consumer culture is that social acceptance (and thereby happiness) is a function
acquiring and projecting an idealized, “branded” self (often with the help of “face-tune” and other “filtering”
technologies), how might coming of age within marketing-infused culture work to deprive young people
(particularly young women) of the kind of healthy cultural environment needed to locate a more independent,
authentic, genuine sense of self?
This deprives young people from a healthy cultural environment because they are creating impossible and
unhealthy expectations for themselves and others. The standard they set for themselves becomes hard to
achieve in reality, but it’s so easy to achieve them through this consumer culture and media.
2. Taken together, following Giddens, if the “project of the self” becomes translated into acquisition, why is the
potential unhappiness it generates (e.g., body dysmorphia, anxiety, identity crisis, etc.) indispensable to the
continuation and expansion of markets? Consider, for example, the long-term economic consequences of
growing up in a cultural environment in which young people were consistently encouraged to simply accept
themselves for their intrinsic qualities (their true inner selves), rather than their extrinsic qualities (their external,
“curated” or “idealized” selves)?

The idea of creating yourself image and idealized self on media can be appealing because it’s something
you want to achieve and the person you want to become. This can be extremely harmful because it
creates impossible expectations that cannot really be achieved. This potential unhappiness can be
indispensable to the continuation and expansion of markets.

3. From a more philosophical standpoint, in your view, despite the drawbacks, would you say the freedom
enabled by technology to select from a wide verity of brands, lifestyles, and expressions of self provides genuine
“empowerment” and authentic “self-determination,” or merely the illusion of “empowerment” and authentic
“self-determination”?
I believe this type of freedom technology has given us is merely the illusion of “empowerment” and
authentic “self-determination”. With the power of technology, we are able to construct our lives on the
screens perfectly and without any flaws. We are able to filter the person people see on the media and
technological platforms. This creates this illusion of a person and more of the person we want to achieve
and want people to see. A good example of this is social media infographics and the publishing of them.
Specifically on Instagram, social media infographics have become popular in providing information about
current events and ways to get involved. Movements like Black Lives Matter or Me Too. These are great to
spread information, but often users post these to “show that they care” about important issues happening
in society. These often can aid the illusion of “empowerment” especially when it comes to the perceived
self.