prosumption
Consumers increasingly perform unpaid labor in the production process, such as cooking meal kits or ordering food via touch screens, blending consumption with production.
2 chapters across 1 book
The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age (2019)George Ritzer
Chapter 4 explores the pervasive drive for efficiency in consumer experiences, particularly through the lens of fast-food restaurants and their influence on broader societal practices. It details how technological advances and streamlined processes, such as drive-throughs and digital ordering, reduce labor needs and enhance consumer throughput. The chapter also examines how home cooking has been rationalized and McDonaldized through frozen foods, microwavable meals, and meal-kit delivery services, highlighting the shift of labor onto consumers as prosumers within highly organized supply chains.
Chapter 3 of 'The McDonaldization of Society: Into the Digital Age' compiles extensive references illustrating the expansion and intensification of McDonaldization principles—efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control—across various sectors including digital platforms, food industry innovations, retail, education, and healthcare. It highlights the rise of platform companies, the role of prosumers in digital capitalism, automation's impact on labor, and the pervasive standardization and rationalization shaping contemporary consumer and institutional practices. The chapter also addresses the implications of big data and self-service technologies in further rationalizing and controlling consumption and production processes.