The Freedom of Consumption

From Boomers to Instagram

With the end of the Second World War and the subsequent economic miracle, a genuine affluent society emerged for the first time in history in the Federal Republic of Germany. Above all, the generation of Baby Boomers, that is the birth cohorts of the 1960s, let loose and shaped a world in which consumption and the associated individualism gained ever greater significance. Consumer goods conferred identity. The choice of car, clothing and even foodstuffs bore witness to sociopolitical conviction and socioeconomic status. With his statement "All roads from '68 ultimately lead to the supermarket", the philosopher Peter Sloterdijk aptly describes the decline of the '68 generation, which actually rebelled against pure consumerism. With these changes at the level of society as a whole, on the one hand came a complete individualisation of society and on the other – brought about by the former – a departure from altruistic values and thus an optimal precondition for the competitive thinking of capitalism. Earlier authorities such as the state or the church increasingly receded into the background and were replaced by a definition of self-worth based on economic performance and consumerist lifestyle. Following the motto "After me, the deluge", the Boomer generation lives to this day: whether it be securing pensions for future generations, accepting new lifestyles or the coming problems regarding climate change. Boomers are reluctant to face criticism, even though they are leaving us a world in which freedom will no longer mean 160 km/h on the motorway, but rather a secured survival. 
The fact that this apparent individualism through consumption and self-presentation, however, says little about a person or a society, but merely fulfils the goal of economic growth, has increasingly been pushed out of collective consciousness over the past decades and manifests itself today in a particularly grotesque way on social media. Instead of individual contributions, "generating content" today rather means copying already successful posts. On TikTok and Instagram one finds the same styles over and over again, which are celebrated as "individual" or "vintage". One sees the same songs, the same dance moves or "challenges" that go against the grain of one's brain if one spends too long on the aforementioned platforms. Yet all of this seems to play no role, since in this way billions of dollars are earned annually, which sustain the capitalist system. Influencers in particular play a central role here: their task as a "living advertising pillar" (Schmitt, Nymoen) consists in implementing a way of thinking, through the pretence of personal closeness and interaction with viewers, in which the pursuit of this lifestyle leads to consumption. Through more interactions and the algorithm of the platforms designed for this purpose, influencers gain more reach and earn money when they present products through collaborations that are purchased by viewers. Whilst advertising used to be perceived as annoying and – as best as one could – ignored, especially younger people today spend hours watching continuous advertising broadcasts on the profiles of their Instagram stars without questioning this unrealistic presentation of a supposedly perfect life. Despite presenting themselves as figures of progress and freedom, influencers act manipulatively and almost reactionary towards their followers by propagating beauty standards and outdated gender roles, calling for constant self-optimisation and misusing political topics for the purpose of self-promotion. Why the increasing influence of influencers represents a societal danger and yet at the same time is an almost perfect symptom of our affluent society, which is actually already in decline, is explained by Wolfgang M. Schmitt and Ole Nymoen in their recently published book "Influencer. The Ideology of Advertising Bodies".