Conspicuous Expression
As promised: extremely heartening piece declaring online social networking as the beginning of the end of conspicuous consumption, and the start of something significantly more environmentally sustainable. Conspicuous, but not Consuming, by Stephen Linaweaver:
But “conspicuous consumption” is being replaced by “conspicuous expression” as the driver of identity. This new paradigm emphasizes the conspicuousness of ideas, interests, and opinions rather than accumulating more stuff than your neighbor. This is not insignificant. How billions choose to distinguish themselves from one another will be just as important to global sustainability as how they power their homes, what they eat, and how they commute to work, making online social networking a critical “leapfrog” technology in the developing world and a surprisingly powerful source of behavioral change in the developed world.
So, it’s not just that your neighbor is expounding the virtues of satirical news as a valid avenue of current events delivery… it’s they’re bragging they saved $1100 per year through conversion to passive house-style heating and cooling.
Comments
Vanessa
Sometimes I find that you use ginormous words that put my public edumacation to shame. ;)
Interesting nonetheless!