Surveillance and alienation in the online economy
The critical literature on commercial monitoring and so-called ‘free labour’ (Terranova 2000) locates exploitation in realms beyond the workplace proper, noting the productivity of networked activity including the creation of user-generated-content and the profitability of commercial sites for socia...
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Surveillance Studies Network
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ftunivqespace:oai:espace.library.uq.edu.au:UQ:240449 2023-05-15T18:31:41+02:00 Surveillance and alienation in the online economy Andrejevic, Mark B. 2011-01-01 https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240449/UQ240449_OA.pdf https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240449 eng eng Surveillance Studies Network issn:1477-7487 Journal Article 2011 ftunivqespace 2020-09-28T23:10:28Z The critical literature on commercial monitoring and so-called ‘free labour’ (Terranova 2000) locates exploitation in realms beyond the workplace proper, noting the productivity of networked activity including the creation of user-generated-content and the profitability of commercial sites for social networking and communication. The changing context of productivity in these realms, however, requires further development of a critical concept of exploitation. This article defines exploitation as the extraction of unpaid, coerced, and alienated labour. It considers how such a definition might apply to various forms of unpaid but profit-generating online activity, arguing that commercial monitoring redoubles the conscious, intentional activity of users in ways that render it amenable to a critique of exploitation. Given the role of commercial monitoring in the emerging online economy, the paper emphasizes the importance of supplementing privacy critiques with approaches that identify the ways in which new forms of surveillance represent a form of power that seeks to manage and control consumer behaviour. Article in Journal/Newspaper Terranova The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
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The University of Queensland: UQ eSpace |
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ftunivqespace |
language |
English |
description |
The critical literature on commercial monitoring and so-called ‘free labour’ (Terranova 2000) locates exploitation in realms beyond the workplace proper, noting the productivity of networked activity including the creation of user-generated-content and the profitability of commercial sites for social networking and communication. The changing context of productivity in these realms, however, requires further development of a critical concept of exploitation. This article defines exploitation as the extraction of unpaid, coerced, and alienated labour. It considers how such a definition might apply to various forms of unpaid but profit-generating online activity, arguing that commercial monitoring redoubles the conscious, intentional activity of users in ways that render it amenable to a critique of exploitation. Given the role of commercial monitoring in the emerging online economy, the paper emphasizes the importance of supplementing privacy critiques with approaches that identify the ways in which new forms of surveillance represent a form of power that seeks to manage and control consumer behaviour. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Andrejevic, Mark B. |
spellingShingle |
Andrejevic, Mark B. Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
author_facet |
Andrejevic, Mark B. |
author_sort |
Andrejevic, Mark B. |
title |
Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
title_short |
Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
title_full |
Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
title_fullStr |
Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
title_sort |
surveillance and alienation in the online economy |
publisher |
Surveillance Studies Network |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240449/UQ240449_OA.pdf https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:240449 |
genre |
Terranova |
genre_facet |
Terranova |
op_relation |
issn:1477-7487 |
_version_ |
1766215478819160064 |