Description according to consumers
Mr Machin is a hyper-connected hyper-consumer. He is connected all day to his smartphone, which instantly informs him of the recommendations made by the brand communities he takes part in.
His smartphone allows him to continuously rent and swap the latest new products (he has bought nothing but food since 2022). All his rentals are made through platforms created by start-ups from 2020, which have become the new big tech companies. These platforms are very efficient: everything he rents arrives at his home, workplace or leisure venue within 1 hour 30 at most. His fridge restocks itself, thanks to the connected button. What a joy no longer to go to the supermarket: only two remain, serving as museums. He can visit them in virtual reality if he likes. The only local shops still in existence are run by communities and are more spaces for exchange than places to buy.
All services are automated; no more need for endless phone calls with his insurer. Claims, breakdowns - everything is compensated and repaired within 6 hours.
He can afford all these services because, professionally, he retrained through an online MBA in highly specialised IT maintenance. An occupation that earns him a lot. He can even help out his family: his brother has been unemployed for 4 years and rents out his labour day by day. He sells his data on platforms in exchange for tokens, which he trades in a parallel form of consumption. Alongside traditional currencies, the benchmark digital currency remains bitcoin.
Long live the cloud, long live non-interruption!
Still, not everything is rosy: he is swamped with purchase recommendations and is expected to make his own in turn for his brand communities. As his reviews carry great weight, he fears a cyberattack that would generate fake reviews issued in his name or that, more conventionally, would siphon off his personal data to resell it. He has to keep training on the new technologies that arrive constantly, and fears ending up in his brother's situation. He no longer pays health insurance following the sale of his medical data, which showed that he suffered from stress at home and from loneliness. The constant pressure, the speed of purchasing... He ends up wondering. Is this really the life he wants? Everyone at home, connected? A total abandonment of ecological concerns?
Ah well, the new generations will surely find a solution...