ABSTRACT

The global COVID-19 pandemic was the latest instance of a crisis of pleasure. Crises of pleasure are periodic eruptions of discontent when consumption is disrupted by external forces. In this case, the pandemic also disrupted expressions of identity on social media, where identity is made legible through conspicuous consumption on social media in the early 2020s. Drawing from six qualitative focus group interviews conducted in the summer of 2020, we analyze how social media users interpret the accounts they follow posting content that seemingly violates social distancing guidelines during COVID-19. We find that consumption during the pandemic was highly contested and surveilled, with participants describing the disciplining power of social media and their use of news and public health guidelines to inform their identities. Both trends illustrate how surveilled modes of consumption characterize the post-lockdown consumption reality, which is polarized and partisan leading towards hedonist and puritanical models.

摘要

全球 COVID-19 大流行是享乐危机的最新例证。当消费受到外力干扰时，快乐危机是不满情绪的周期性爆发。在这种情况下，大流行还破坏了社交媒体上的身份表达，在 2020 年代初期，社交媒体上的炫耀性消费使身份变得清晰可见。根据 2020 年夏季进行的六次定性焦点小组访谈，我们分析了社交媒体用户如何解释他们关注的帐户，这些帐户发布了在 COVID-19 期间看似违反社交距离准则的内容。我们发现，大流行期间的消费受到高度竞争和监督，参与者描述了社交媒体的纪律力量以及他们使用新闻和公共卫生指南来告知他们的身份。