Nor Ainaa Abdul Rahim, Author at Malaysian Philosophy Society

One-dimensional Man, Surveillance Capitalism and Fast Fashion

The mass production of clothes, following the highly profitable and exploitative business model of fast fashion, is not merely a dominant concept in commerce, but also in society. In particular, it has heightened the negative effects of the “one-dimensional man” that Herbert Marcuse, a German-American political philosopher, critiques. Marcuse introduces the central concept of the “one-dimensional man” as someone who is subjected to a new kind of totalitarianism in the form of consumerist and technological capitalism. Nowadays, we see this form of social control, all thanks to fast fashion.

Fast fashion replicates catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, now ever so quickly through the tool of social media, merging both fast fashion with surveillance capitalism. On one hand, we have social media influencers who provide instant material for fast fashion companies to copy and replicate the designs of the trendiest, highly sought after high-end designers.

Combining this with surveillance capitalism—an economic system whereby data companies use the commodification of personal data in order to boost profits—we find ourselves the one-dimensional man. Later in this article, we can also see how Marcuse’s concept of alienation, which is a continuation of Marx’s alienation theory, has become even more alarmingly present in the fast fashion industry as well as in this age of surveillance capitalism.

The Tragedy of Fast Fashion – Alienation of Labour

To keep up with the ever-changing and time-sensitive pace of fast fashion trends, fashion brands result in inhumane and unacceptable modes of production – sweatshops.

On the production side, increasing demands for cheap, trendy articles of clothing have seen the prevalence of garment sweatshops, operated by millions of workers who are forced to work (child labor is especially common) under brutal and unfair working conditions. Wages are unacceptably low, working hours are long and working conditions are terrible.

2013 Rana Plaza Garment Factory Collapse, The New York Times

In 2013, the collapse of a factory building due to the manufacturers pushing the boundaries of the engineering limit of the Rana Plaza Factory Building in Bangladesh caused the death of more than 1,100 workers, with 2,500 others injured.

As Marcuse argues, we see how capital (capitalism through the fast fashion industry) dominates social and political life, as workers are subjugated to poor living standards and submitted into subservience due to their economic position in society. Inspired by Marx’s theory of alienation, Marcuse points out that the workers are indeed devoid of any meaning in production; what they produce doesn’t mean anything to them, and hence, we have the alienation of labor.

Social Media Fuels Fast Fashion

Sprout Social

On the consumption side, social media fuels fast fashion. The very nature of social media has shifted from a platform of reconnecting (MySpace in the earlier days) to a materialistic platform where people promote their material wealth and lifestyles.

This very nature of social media has allowed for the rapidity of trends coming and going – through massive clothing hauls on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Surveillance capitalism only worsens this. Through data mining, social media has become a massively important tool for corporations to make financial gains by using it as a marketplace whereby users’ data are collected, allowing tech companies to personalize marketing strategies.

Corporations have been tailoring ads and content according to user engagement, making it easy for fashion brands to use social media as fuel to promote massive sales of the garments they force workers to produce in sweatshops.

Drawing in on a Marcusian analysis of the one-dimensional man, consumers too are fed into this feedback loop whereby their reliance on screen time encapsulates them into this culture of finding euphoria in unhappiness – that is, in buying unnecessary material clothes.

These trendy fashion pieces don’t offer any real satisfaction, and this is all a result of corporations imposing false needs onto consumers through the powerful tool that is social media. The age of surveillance capitalism, through the use of social media, in the fast fashion industry consistently exemplifies the alienation of man in the Marcusian context.

Declutter and Prioritise Basic Fashion

KonMari Method, konmari.com

If you find yourself being trapped in this never-ending consumer culture, a general point of advice is to first, take a breather.

Realising how this cycle perpetuates materialist tendencies is a good first step. Marie Kondo-esque methods of decluttering and prioritising basic fashion pieces is not only beneficial to the environment, but helps declutter the mind as well.

There are a bunch of ways to live sustainably, either through secondhand clothing platforms (Carousell, Depop, Vinted, or thrifting) if you need, or simply by learning how to style the items already sitting in our closets! That being said, any small step helps, and we all start somewhere!

The widespread use of social media in this digital age has undeniably brought about new advantages as well as new challenges as social norms have been redefined to account for this new, integral part of human society. The ease of connectivity helped people who were isolated during the pandemic to stay connected with people they couldn’t physically meet.

“Social media has played a vital role in combating loneliness and anxiety, which we know have crept up during the outbreak.”
Katie Gilsenan

We have also seen social platforms serve as a virtual learning tool to help carry out non-physical classes and lectures. Digital solidarity across the globe has also helped spread awareness on the #BlackLivesMatter movement during trying times. However, despite its benefits, we can draw parallels with Rousseau’s conception of the corruption of man in civil society and social media’s corruption of man.

Rousseau on Human Nature and Social Media

To briefly explain Rousseau’s argument, Rousseau argues that man in the natural state is solitary. Man is devoid of interaction, independent and only possesses what Rousseau calls Amour de Soi Meme. Amour de Soi Meme in its simplicity, is self-preservation, and so, in our natural state there is no need for interaction.

As we enter society, Rousseau argues that a new unnatural property, Amour Propre which is self-love, comes into play. Man begins to interact with others and starts forming dependencies, disrupting the independence of man in the natural state.

The comparative aspect of Amour Propre entices men to make comparisons amongst themselves, and leads to their desire to be valued in the eyes of others. This dependency creates inequalities to Rousseau, as the weak become the subordinate, and the strong become the superior.

Our Self-Love Nature Causes Us Harm on Social Media

On an individual level, social media serves as an easily accessible platform for users to compare and contrasts themselves with others.

With information and data being so readily available within a few clicks, man is now more able than ever to be engrossed in comparisons and we can see how this heightens their desire to be valued highly in the eyes of others. In order to do so, users use social media as a platform to promote material wealth and lifestyles in the name of improving their social standings.

At the end of the day, the projection and construction of this online avatarism becomes a misrepresentation of the self, and whilst this may seem harmless at first glance, the effects of this stretch out to others as well.

Other users viewing the profile of someone seemingly perfect may end up doubting their self-worth and this has serious implications on mental health. This desire to be perceived not only in a positive manner, but in a superior manner relative to others exacerbates existing non-digital inequalities.

The nature of social media in itself has transformed vastly throughout the decade, starting off as a platform to connect and interact with others, MySpace being one of the pioneers.

Surveillance Capitalism and Data Mining Further Amplifies the Problem

Pexels

Although on surface level, the platforms that exist now still focus on connecting people, a lot of what we see is focused on the exploitation and manipulation of its users, in the name of corporations making financial gains through surveillance capitalism and data mining.

Social media has transformed into a marketplace whereby users’ data has become the product, and corporations buy such data to personalise marketing strategies in order to boost profits.

“Its success depends upon one-way-mirror operations engineered for our ignorance and wrapped in a fog of misdirection, euphemism and mendacity.”
Shoshana Zuboff, The New York Times

Surveillance capitalism and data mining only amplifies the problems discussed earlier, as already glory-seeking individuals are fed with ads and profiles of people like them, causing them to want to be more like someone else.

Users are fed with ads of products that aim to tackle the biggest insecurities through the platform’s algorithm based on recent searches, engagements and shares. Such only promotes man to want to further deviate away from their true self and for Rousseau, the desire to be someone you are not ultimately leads to man’s corruption.

Different Aspects of Amour Propre or Self-Love

Pexels

It is important to distinguish the different aspects of Amour Propre, and although Rousseau himself doesn’t clearly do so, readings of his other works, Emile (On Education) and The Social Contract, suggest so. Amour Propre, like many other properties, isn’t necessarily bad. Amour Propre (self-love) is relatively harmless when it isn’t relative to others, making it egalitarian.

The problem arises when it is relative and comparative, and this is often called inegalitarian Amour Propre.

Similarly, social media isn’t necessarily bad. As we have seen above, there are both positive and negative aspects to it.

However, consistent with Rousseau’s argument that Amour Propre is the main cause of man’s corruption, we see that the negative aspects of social media are due to inegalitarian Amour Propre as the problems discussed earlier were all attributed to comparisons and relativity with others.

Practical Steps to Protect Yourself from the Psychological Harms of Social Media

Ultimately, our next practical step would be to address the problems that stem from inegalitarian Amour Propre.

In summary, we see that Rousseau’s account of the corruption of man entering civil society is almost perfectly exemplified by the emergence of social media, and as users ourselves, we must be aware of the psychological harms it can cause. We have seen that social media can be utilised in a positive and empowering way and we must strive towards this exact use. Educating users on what exactly they are getting into when using social media is extremely important, even more so for the younger users of social media as well as education on online etiquette and ways to ensure personal security and protection.

To end this, below are some precautionary steps and countermeasures to protect oneself from the harms of social media set forth in the drama-documentary “The Social Dilemma” (2020):

Turn off notifications or reduce the number of notifications you receive
Uninstall social media and news apps that are wasting time
Use a search engine that doesn’t store search history, like Qwant
Use browser extensions to block recommendations
Fact-check before sharing, liking, or commenting when the information looks surprising
Obtain sources of information with different perspectives, including sources one might disagree with
Never accept recommended videos on YouTube, Facebook or anywhere
Try to avoid any clickbait material
Keep devices out of the bedroom after a certain time
Do not allow social media use until children reach high school