Consumerism Is Dead. Welcome To The Sharing Economy Of The Future
Isn't it kind of strange that we all have things like cars, houses, computers... all of which sit unused for the majority of their existence? Seems like a waste… right?
It is. We don't need to own these items to use them, so why do we? On one hand we are paying for is the convenience of using them when we want to. On another, we are experiencing the artifacts of the quickly fading cultural period known to us as consumerism.
Part of the modern Western culture is a desire to own everything and anything we can. It’s literally ingrained into our behavioral patterns as The American Dream. Everyone gets their 3 bedroom house, a white picket fence and a shiny new Ford to sit in their driveway. Every new item we purchase is another token of our validation. This way of thinking is dying. It’s outdated, unnecessary and unhealthy.
There is a smarter way. We've seen examples of it with the sharing economy with companies like Uber and Airbnb. This is the way of the future, this is the path that we need to take.
The reasons for owning our own goods are becoming less and less legitimate. We are headed into a world where we will no longer own anything at all … the ultimate sharing economy.
With climate issues looming over us, we are going to have to change our lifestyles in order to just survive as a species. Consumerism is so 2000’s… say hello to the new way of living.
Let me paint a picture for you. In the future you may own a home (but most likely you will rent/pay for your space usage), you may own a few personal items, but the majority of things you use will be on demand services. Want to go for a bike ride? One will show up at your door in 15 minutes. Need to drive somewhere, an automated car will pick you up and drop you off. Hungry? A drone will deliver a meal to you in 10 minutes… or less. The idea of ownership will be forgotten. We will have anything and everything we want, whenever we want … and it will be cheap.
Technology is continuing to improve our ability to share and interact with each other in novel ways. As this evolution continues we're going to see the sharing economy continue to expand. Those that are able to adapt to this new way of commerce are going to be the business and thought leaders of the future. We've seen it done with cars, food and a variety of other mediums. All it takes is a few individuals, a little bit of inspiration and a lot of hard work. Are you going to help us make the change or resist, kicking and screaming the whole way? I know which side I’m on.
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I’m a big fan of sharing economy.
Everyone talk about Uber and Airbnb. Yes there are examples of sharing the material things that cost us more.
I really think Youtube, Twitter and Meetup are perfect example of sharing economy where we could share own experience and knowledge with anyone in the world and impact their life positively.
I would go further and say Crypto is also part of sharing economy which will make the world as one country. Regardless of wherever you’re in the world, you would be able participate, invest, get rewarded and contribute to this Decentralised Economy.
well thought out reply, thank you for your input sir
I guess you said it all. Thanks for sharing your opinion.
Also I'm still expecting to know the winner of the contest you hosted last week "Inaugural Steem Challenge".
Thank you.
great thinking sir
''Every new item we purchase is another token of our validation. This way of thinking is dying. It’s outdated, unnecessary and unhealthy.''
Loved this. You draw again on a lot of good ideas and hopefully this is where the future will go!
ReSteemed!
Luppers :)
What a nightmare future.
Are you going to share a spouse and children. Share economy comes from cultural Marxism.
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Great article.
I love the idea of an on-demand economy. Why buy a car if you don't drive everyday? It is wasteful. I can think of hundreds of other examples.
(Of course, it's important to have the choice to purchase a car or whatever).
Great article. I have never even thought about this. You just gave me an entire new thing to think about. I realize now how ridiculous consumerism is. I am all for this new sharing economy. And I definitely see the world moving in that direction. Its almost there now. It happened right before our eyes, and we didn't even know it.
This is certainly something we should all hope for: that underutilized assets, such as cars that are sitting in a parking lot, would be more effectively used. The shift to a more environmentally friendly society where more resources are more collectively owned doesn't seem ideal, but rather inevitable.
However, there's also a risk involved: sharing economy might also mean concentration of ownership of the sharing platforms. That is why the next step is not only to share the underutilized assets using a digital platform, but sharing the ownership of the platform. This could mean for example that instead of a shareholder company running the platform (as is the case in Uber and Air BnB) it could operate as cooperative, with each member owning one share.