Now that the U.S is losing its share of the international manufacturing market, it has to find a new sector where it can win. Something that China can’t take from us with exploitation. At least not yet. Thus, our corporate overlords have ushered in the experience economy.

Widely dubbed the “service economy,” we are now told that consumers are spending their money on experiences and services rather than goods. Trade your shallow materialism for a different type of one-dimensional desire – the post modern yearn for possessing and owning moments and happiness. The value of a certain product is now determined by one’s enjoyment and one’s ability to share their enjoyment with others. Not the spreading joy itself, but the ability to show others that the purchaser is experiencing a high quantity of it.

This seems like a pretty innocuous shift, right? It’s not like this change has any major consequences for the average American in their workday. People are still given crappy hours, crappy benefits, and a crappy deal overall. This time though, they’re working to make someone happy instead of to make a thing. Maybe an upgrade? Maybe a downgrade? Depends on who you talk to. This is not the change we should be focussing on, though.

Quality Of Life Changes

I would call the other shift caused by this economic “revolution” alarming, but we were stupid not to expect it. It’s sad, but sadly makes sense. A new emphasis on and monetization of experiences makes the life of the working class even more mundane. Now, instead of working and saving extensively to buy an object, many are working and saving extensively to simply live life.

In a goods and manufacturing economy, the ultimate goal is the ownership of more things. If a consumer is living paycheck to paycheck, they might find themselves with a lack of new things. This can suck, especially if you can’t afford the basics. A lack of new clothes or basic household necessities like new lightbulbs for example, can severely effect someone’s quality of life. Still though, if you can afford food and the bare necessities, you can find some fun in daily life. In this manufacturing universe, services and entertainment are not the nexus of the American economy, so there is less demand and therefore less cost for fun experiences. Now though, entertainment has taken over daily life. Shorter attention spans and a new obsession with constant stimulation has made people fixated on constant input and the prospect of a life changing experience, defined by stimulation and entertainment.

Now, if you’re living modestly, your buying power directly connects to your quality of life and free-time activities. If you have children, it’s even harder to find something cheap and fun to do. It’s harder to fit in with the average “middle class” American who can afford various “experiences.” Sure, objects were integral to daily life too. Now though, being broke seems more correlated to your quality of life than ever. A lack of extra cash excludes you from countless leisure actives that are in vogue and labeled “necessities.” On a fundamental level, your amount of disposable income now directly connects to the quantity and quality of the experiences you will have in your life.

So, where does the experience economy leave us? Poorer quality of life and fulfillment for the working class, now more transparent than ever. If you can’t afford to buy your kids new school supplies, they can rough it out. They might be otherized by peers for having lower quality things, but at least they have some pencils. Now, not being able to afford that school trip or experience for your kid excludes them from a good time, and a major opportunity for social interaction with peers.

Finally, a new way to alienate working class citizens! What a good idea in a world where the paycheck to paycheck class of workers grows day by day. We slip closer and closer to a class war every day.

The Implication Cocktail

This increased alienation and new influx of free time due to the unattainable prices of the experience economy makes a dangerous set of circumstances for lower income kids. Young people will be especially class conscious, and will in turn feel more spite and separation from wealthy peers. The consensus that more money means a better life and better experiences is more widespread and true than ever – do we not see how this might make some people angry?

Plus, the ability for anybody to view the lives of the wealthy from a first person point of view adds insult to injury. Vlogs and first hand accounts of outrageous and unattainable lifestyles might be opium for a portion of the masses, but it will continue to make a growing portion even more indignant.

This previously impossible peek into the lives of the uber-wealthy will help many to realize how obscene their lives really are. Listening to one of the dime a dozen lifestyle Tik Tokers discuss how they spent $100,00 to buy out the 4 surrounding first class seats on their flight for more space is not helping to permeate a sense of fairness in our society. The obscene ways the hyper rich spend their money is shoved in our faces more than ever, and the line between people with and without money has grown even more pronounced, yet more easy to view. Let’s understand the potential consequences of this new shift before they become uncontrollable. Hint, that moment is closer than most of us estimate.