My Leisure is More Conspicuous Than Yours! (Sculpting Identity Through Facebook)

-- DanielButrymowicz - 04 Apr 2008

Outline:

Thesis: The massive popularity of the social networking site Facebook is at least partially due to its utility as a means of publicly displaying one's leisure activities.

I. Conspicuous Leisure and Consumption

Veblen argues that, in order to showcase power or importance, one needs to engage in a conspicuous display of pecuniary power. Initially, he claims, this consisted of "conspicuous leisure," in which one would absent himself from menial or vulgar labor. Subsequently, the focus of pecuniary emulation was shifted to conspicuous consumption. Consumption was a more highly visible means of conveying one's power. Among college students and recent graduates, Facebook has reopened the possibility of highly conspicuous leisure. This is especially useful for college students, the majority of who are not in a position to engage in significant pecuniary consumption.

II. Facebook as Conspicuous Leisure

Facebook facilitates conspicuous leisure on two levels. The first is direct: Facebook itself is an unproductive use of time. In order to begin using the website, people must create a profile that reflects their interests and personality. Users carefully sculpt these profiles and many update them frequently. Simply having a Facebook profile reflects a certain amount of leisure time invested in making it and maintaining it.

Additionally, Facebook has added "applications" over time that. These include games that can be played against other Facebook users, such as chess or Scrabble, as well as activities like making "stickers" to post on other profiles or even raising digital pets. Importantly, these activities are all publicly recorded on the user's profile. Anyone viewing can see your win/loss record in Scrabble, for example.

Finally, the hallmark feature of Facebook is that it tells any viewer exactly how many friends you have and who they are. Social time is obviously leisure time, and racking up a huge number of friends takes significant non-productive effort. In this same vein, members can create and join groups, all of which are listed in the user profile.

III. Marking Other Leisure

The beauty of Facebook is that in addition to being a direct waste of time, it also publicly displays the other ways in which you have wasted time. Users list their favorite books, movies, and music. This provides the opportunity for invidious comparison between users based on taste. Have they read the right books? Do they like cool music?

Facebook also allows users to post photo albums. These can provide direct visual evidence of time spent in leisure. Other users can "tag" you in photographs, and Facebook keeps a numerical tally of the number of photographs in which you appear.

Veblen describes how education itself is a fundamental form of conspicuous leisure. Facebook was created for college students, and the first information that people see about users is the schools they've attended.

IV. Conclusion

Facebook provides college students a means for direct and public invidious comparison with their peers. Since the fanbase of Facebook is skewed toward those who are not doing physical labor to begin with, the emphasis moves to pecuniary emulation and taste, with users attempting to present an image of themselves that comports with the proper standards of taste for their peer group.

Comments are welcome.

Section I

Subsection A

Subsub 1

Subsection B

Subsub 1

Subsub 2

Section II

Subsection A

Subsection B

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