consumer-as-worker

Consumers are increasingly required to perform labor-like tasks during consumption, such as self-service in fast-food restaurants and multitasking in educational settings.

1 chapter across 1 book

The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age (2019)George Ritzer

Chapter 3 Efficiency and Calculability: Consumers 1 Efficiency: Drive-Throughs and Finger Foods Streamlining the Process The Fast-Food Industry: Speeding the Way From Secretion to Excretion

Chapter 3 explores how efficiency and calculability shape consumer experiences across various sectors, including fast food, retail, education, healthcare, entertainment, and online platforms. It highlights the streamlining of processes such as drive-throughs and finger foods, the simplification of products, and the increasing reliance on algorithms and big data to quantify and optimize consumption. The chapter also discusses how consumers are increasingly put to work in these efficient systems, blurring the lines between production and consumption.