Home for Hire: How the sharing economy commoditises our private sphere
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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Sharing Economies in Times of Crisis: Practices, Politics and Possibilities. ed. / Anthony Ince; Sarah Marie Hall. Oxford: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2017. p. 83-95 (Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy).
Research output: Contributions to collected editions/works › Chapter › peer-review
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Home for Hire
T2 - How the sharing economy commoditises our private sphere
AU - Bialski, Paula
PY - 2017/1/1
Y1 - 2017/1/1
N2 - Since the rise of the sharing economy in recent years, mass media (the Economist (2013), The New York Times, and the Guardian (2014), to name a few), have scoffed at the word ‘sharing’ and questioned the term ‘economy’ – critiquing the do-goody, fluffy nature in which the term ‘sharing,’ arrives at your consciousness first, hiding the term ‘economy’, and making the whole practice “seem selfless” (Singer 2015). The term ‘sharing economy’ was first associated with online technologies that match providers or owners of certain goods (like a couch to sleep on) or services (like dog walking) with consumers – allowing users to access goods and services without the necessity of ownership. That being said, these recent mass media discourses have promoted an understanding that this form of ‘sharing’ is indeed much akin to an economic exchange. What has not been presented thus far is a critique of that which is being ‘shared’ or sold, and how this form of economy is helping capitalise on spheres of life which have formally been off limits to monetisation. This chapter is about the ways in which recent transformations in economic life – through the phenomenon of short-term apartment ‘sharing’ or renting – have placed some of the most intimate and private spheres for purchase: namely, the home and everything that comes with it: privacy, intimacy, candidness, and authenticity.
AB - Since the rise of the sharing economy in recent years, mass media (the Economist (2013), The New York Times, and the Guardian (2014), to name a few), have scoffed at the word ‘sharing’ and questioned the term ‘economy’ – critiquing the do-goody, fluffy nature in which the term ‘sharing,’ arrives at your consciousness first, hiding the term ‘economy’, and making the whole practice “seem selfless” (Singer 2015). The term ‘sharing economy’ was first associated with online technologies that match providers or owners of certain goods (like a couch to sleep on) or services (like dog walking) with consumers – allowing users to access goods and services without the necessity of ownership. That being said, these recent mass media discourses have promoted an understanding that this form of ‘sharing’ is indeed much akin to an economic exchange. What has not been presented thus far is a critique of that which is being ‘shared’ or sold, and how this form of economy is helping capitalise on spheres of life which have formally been off limits to monetisation. This chapter is about the ways in which recent transformations in economic life – through the phenomenon of short-term apartment ‘sharing’ or renting – have placed some of the most intimate and private spheres for purchase: namely, the home and everything that comes with it: privacy, intimacy, candidness, and authenticity.
KW - Digital media
KW - Sociology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85050263300&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.4324/9781315660646
DO - 10.4324/9781315660646
M3 - Chapter
SN - 9781138959415
T3 - Routledge Frontiers of Political Economy
SP - 83
EP - 95
BT - Sharing Economies in Times of Crisis
A2 - Ince, Anthony
A2 - Hall, Sarah Marie
PB - Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
CY - Oxford
ER -