In recent decades we have experienced a significant development of technology and with it, digital media; creating a new culture and a new way of acting by people in general. This, in turn, has also led to change the dynamics with which brands interact with their customers.
The way to promote products has been evolving over time. It started many years ago with radio, then television. Both media created a high impact on their communities, and accelerated consumption because the message sent by the brands was massively transmitted.
Over the years, the massive influence of what appeared in these media became so important that what did not appear in them was discarded or belittled, thus, only those who had the economic influence to pay and appear on radio or television were given importance. There were still two clearly marked groups: those who produced and those who consumed the articles or goods.
However, in the last 25 years, the advances of the internet and social media have changed the way content is communicated and products are consumed. Waisbord (2012) explains how the creation of digital platforms has modified the advertising flow considerably, opening new options to advertisers, dethroning traditional media.
From these advances in digital communication, prosumers are born, which according to Toffler, are consumers who in turn become producers of content or products, thus shortening the previous generational gaps, in which consumption and production were two separate areas. Larrotcha (2019) reflects on the idea that the prosumer promotes the product by consuming it and giving his opinion about it, in social networks, forums or blogs.
Regarding the age of prosumers, Jordán (2017) explains that, at present, they are mostly millennials between 25 and 35 years old, who have developed in a culture very different from that of their parents and grandparents, who grew up with television and radio. In fact, millennials are considered the first digital natives.
In this way, Ortegón (2015) gives examples in which the consumer is also a producer: when a furniture store sends the furniture in parts and the customer must assemble it at home, or when buying packages of preprocessed food that must be finished cooking at home. Additionally, there are websites of shoe brands, where you can design the shoe with the color you want, the type of pin, among others.
Social networks currently play a leading role in digital communication and interaction of prosumers. One example is Youtube as a political tool, in which prosumers edit videos with the purpose of producing and consuming entertaining content, as a tool for political participation, in a fresh and satirical way.
In addition to YouTube, there is also Instagram, which includes a great diversity of images, designs and texts, characteristics that make it an alternative social media. Prosumers, in that social network, create content aiming at a community or target audience, once they get them, they obtain economic benefits for the publication of a post or a mention of recommendation of some product or service they consume.
Among all social networks, Facebook remains the leader, however, networks such as Instagram, Pinterest and Youtube experience greater growth (Martínez-Sala et al, 2018). The use of each of them varies, as gradually more networks are opening that attract new users, while others are boring the new generations.
Finally, Islas-Carmoma (2008) states that in the ubiquitous society: “communication for everyone, anytime, anywhere”, the figures of the sender and receiver today have limitations because reality surpasses them. From the perspective of media ecology, he admits it as an extension of the telegraph, which in his time represented “the first externalization of our nervous system”. The medium that develops the most is the one that suits human needs.
In summary, Instagram and YouTube are the social networks most used by young prosumers and young adults. In our region, prosumers use the networks to promote themselves and to consume content they find attractive. In Ibero-America, most network users are still more inclined to passively observe than to produce and consume. Will we see an increase in prosumers in the coming years? Surely we will.
References
Islas-Carmoma, J. O. (2008). The prosumer. The communicative actor of the ubiquity society. Palabra Clave, 11, 29-38. Retrieved qbril 2021
Jordán, D., Arias, C., & Samaniego, G. (2017). Prosumer participation in the new era of communication. Retrieved from. https://revistas.uide.edu.ec/index.php/innova/article/view/556/1336
Larrotcha, S. (2017). The prosumer and its influence on consumers 2.0. Retrieved from. https://www.im.education/blog/prosumidor-influencia-los-consumidores-2-0/
Martínez-Sala, A., Segarra-Saavedra, J., & Monserrat-Gauchi, J. (2018). Millennials as prosumers and adprosumers in corporate social networks. Retrieved from. https://scielo.conicyt.cl/pdf/cinfo/n43/0719-367X-cinfo-43-137.pdf
Ortegón, C. (2015). Prosumo: a look at the invisible economy. Retrieved from. https://revistas.ugca.edu.co/index.php/contexto/article/view/406/926
Waisbord, S. (2012). Rethinking the journalism and politics research agenda in the globalized academy. Retrieved from. https://www.periodistica.es/sep2016r/images/La_investigacion.pdf
