Last week, Real Life published this essay by Ben Schneider about the “experience economy,” a concept premised on the idea that we can consume prepackaged experiences the same way we do goods and services. The more this idea takes hold, the more it can seem as though experiences should consist of discrete objects rather than a flow and that what is enjoyable about an experience is not its substance but its commodification — the fact that it can be made into an object, collectible, exchangeable. It is “memorable” (and pleasurable) because it is detachable. And our pleasure in them makes us complicit in the commodification process, structuring our demand for “experiences” that can be unilaterally amassed and consumed, from which the social dimension can be subtracted.
Not hearing the oarsmen
Not hearing the oarsmen
Not hearing the oarsmen
Last week, Real Life published this essay by Ben Schneider about the “experience economy,” a concept premised on the idea that we can consume prepackaged experiences the same way we do goods and services. The more this idea takes hold, the more it can seem as though experiences should consist of discrete objects rather than a flow and that what is enjoyable about an experience is not its substance but its commodification — the fact that it can be made into an object, collectible, exchangeable. It is “memorable” (and pleasurable) because it is detachable. And our pleasure in them makes us complicit in the commodification process, structuring our demand for “experiences” that can be unilaterally amassed and consumed, from which the social dimension can be subtracted.