Discussion: Is Virtual Consumerism Built on Social Pressure?

We wrote an article last week that asked whether virtual world consumerism is essentially a product of social pressures. In support of our opinion, we cited an article from the Virtual Economy Research Network that made the case. One of its better points:

Beyond individual appearance, consumption can also be associated with group membership and belonging.

Through their visibility, items of virtual clothing, accessories, and full avatar skins serve as marks of membership within particular groups.

What the article is saying is something anyone who went through high school would know: It's a whole lot easier to be accepted by a (virtual) social group if you look the part.

For the most part, Second Life's furries hang out with other furries, and someone dressed in a Steampunk outfit will likely have a difficult time being accepted.

Well, our article caught the eye of my friend and critic Dusan Writer, who took us to task and inspired a lively debate on his website. 13 posts later, its apparent there's a clear divide between those who view the consumerism in Second Life as a product of social pressure and those who view it as a means of digital self-expression.

But what kind of social pressure is it that makes self-expression dependent on purchasing things? This sentiment is inherent in Dusan's argument that consumerism is self-expression: Second Life avatars are expected to express themselves through what they've purchased, and the in-world society gives positive feedback to avatars that look especially attractive due to their purchases.

Though this pressure may not be visible, it certainly is a social pressure. The unspoken need for people who associate with the Furry mindset to purchase Furry outfits in order to participate in Second Life group activities is evidence of this. Furries who show up looking human will find a much different atmosphere than their fox-eared companions.

I'd like to keep this discussion going -- post your thoughts and I'll follow up through the week as the discussion develops.

Comments

[Joel Foner]

Is there one motivation for any particular behavior in a real life city of hundreds of thousands of people (last I heard, there are often 70-80,000 online concurrently, with a rotation of far, far higher over the course of weeks)?

I suspect that because there are so many people in virtual worlds, participating in many communities and sub-communities, you will find many motivations for any particular behavior, as in real life.

Some people create as with a commercial goal in mind, others as pure artistic expression, others to be part of a community, others as an expression of self-development and growth, others to explore possibilities that they may not have considered in other environments, and probably many other motivations out there.

On top of these general motivations, some people in virtual worlds, as in real life, as extreme introverts, and essentially operate on their own, without social involvement, while others are extroverted and constantly involved in social contact with the attendant pressures.

Is there some reason that these all can not be accurate descriptions of the collective motivations of some people throughout a large community? Is there a reason to assume that there would be one universal motivation for anything across such a large group?

Joel

[Joel Foner]

(continuing rather than one long post)

As with creation, the reasons for purchasing items are likely similarly dispersed. Some people will buy products for individual reasons, and not be part of some larger social structure, while others may be highly driven by social motivations.

I am not seeing the basis for claiming that consumerism is fully based on social pressures, to the exclusion of the potential that it is in some cases self-expression in the abstract. Potentially in some or many cases social pressure is a strong part of the mix, however it doesn't seem right to me that this must always be a core driver - there are too many scenarios in which social pressure may not be present or relevant for it to be universal.

Joel

[Lalo Telling]

You go to a lot of trouble to single out furries for their appearance, but something tells me you know little about us (yes, I am one). Allow me to be vain enough to suggest you read my blog, but particularly this recent post on roleplay: http://lalotelling.blogspot.com/2009/09/more-on-roleplay.html

As discussed there, to be furry anywhere -- including Second Life -- involves at least some of what's termed "persona roleplay". It should be easy to infer that roleplay in a visually-enhanced medium includes looking the part. The same applies to roleplay communities of all kinds throughout SL, be they medieval, elven, merfolk, steampunk, cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic combat, Starfleet or Gor. What you mistake as "social pressure" in those cases is nothing more nor less than preparing for a role.

I also invite you to come to Luskwood (which celebrated its 6th anniversary this weekend), talk to some of us, and actually learn, instead of making assumptions. One thing you'll discover is that people who show up in furry places wearing human avatars are treated *much* better than furries are in many human sims -- in other words, like the people they really are behind the keyboard. Because of its proximity to a major telehub, the denizens of Luskwood are well-practiced and eager to help newly-hatched avatars who find themselves there, whether or not they intend to join the community.

And by the way, there are quite a few steampunk furries.

[PixPol]

Lalo,

I'm not making judgments on furries or any other group in Second Life. I am merely making the argument that, for most, being "furry" involves wearing an animal avatar, and that this is a group-enforced way of knowing who is what.

No need to infer hostility where there is none, but I'll eb sure to check out your blog.

[Lalo Telling]

Pix,

I wasn't inferring hostility from you... lord knows we get enough of it from the truly prejudiced.

I do still think you have the whole decision to wear fur (scales, armor, uniforms, whatever the roleplay happens to be) turned on its head, and are misreading a conscious decision to *self-identify* as subconscious pressure to *group-identify*.

[Dusan Writer]

Pix:

I'm glad to see you've shifted your thinking a little. The issue I took with your first post was that you argued that CONSUMERISM in Second Life was driven by overt or invisible social pressure.

I have no issue with the idea that there are cultural norms and affordances which arise from various group expressions and social pressure. I have to say that the 'pressure' in SL is more like a gentle beckoning than platforms where the social mechanics are built into the environment - Warcraft, say, where conformance to group norms is required to plan for and achieve specific goals.

Of course there are social influences on expression: social structures are like canvasses upon which we paint our identities.

But your initial claim that these social pressures are towards consumerism ignores the realities of Second Life, in which a new avatar can get kitted out and look pretty decent without buying anything and in which the ability to express your consumption has so many limitations that you'd almost think the world was at war with itself: at once encouraging consumerism and at the same time making it nearly impossible to conspicuously display that consumption.

Finally, as Boellstorff points out, there are many other ways in which group norms create a 'culture' in Second Life and many of them have nothing to do with buying, wearing or owning anything: for example, there are social protocols for being AFK, for private IMs, for group chat, for the use of animations. Discussion of lag has long been a social affordance with a social pressure to moan about it convincingly. :P

Finally, I'm with Lalo - it would be interesting to hear you make statements about how this group pressure that you've described actually works through reference to some of your own experiences in SL, but I can't help get the feeling that you're speaking from the experience of other blogs and research reports rather than directly, but that might be because you've decided to segregate direct experience from empirical evidence.

As I pointed out, however, the empirical evidence upon which you relied is faulty (or is actually opinion with a researcher making claims even before their research is done, highlighting a potential study bias). While, like any platform or environment, there are social norms and this a culture in which we can 'fit in', that doesn't allow us to conclude that there's an inherent porting of consumerism from the real world to the virtual - frankly, I just don't see it.

[twitter.com/botgirlq]

Interesting topic! I have a few random thoughts...

Why the hell humans do just about anything is usually a mix of biological, psychological and sociological factors. I'm a bit skeptical that social pressure is the main cause of virtual consumerism or that consumerism is the most significant symptom of social pressure in virtual worlds.

I agree that it's likely that some people in virtual worlds make purchases as a result of pressure caused by by social norms (pull), but you could just as easily spin the same data as people choosing to make purchases from a desire to be part of a group (push.)

In the first example the group is generating some coercive force that compels hapless members to spend their $Lindens. In the second, people have a desire to feel part of a group which they consciously choose to fulfill through the purchase of items that outwardly signify their association.

On the question of consumerism as self-expression...

It seems to me that some consumerism is driven by people's desire to reflect their inner self image through external signs that include purchased goods. But it's hard to deny that people also shop for other reasons including the desire to conform to social norms (whether or not they reflect one's self-image).

So I guess what I'm saying is that taking any particular factor as THE MAIN CAUSE is good for stimulating discussion, but probably not a reflection of the varied complexity behind the relationship between consumerism and social groups.