Habbo Hotel’s “Stuff” and its Globalisation and Consumerism.

# Blog 6: Habbo Hotel’s “Stuff” and its Globalisation and Consumerism.

 

Image From: http://www.richardgjonesjr.com/blog

As an extensive statement “stuff” can be classified as a; matter, substance, material and thing. However, global networks can refer to “stuff” in a completely different fundament. Stuff can be used through international trade networks, transformations and can be used to provide developments of social industries worldly and globally. Dickens’, (2007) states that; the era of globalisation has been marked by dramatic increases in technology, trade and investment- and an impressive increase in prosperity. This is coherent with what was mentioned in this week’s lecture that “stuff” moves through a system; from contraction to production; production to distribution; and distribution to consumption all leading to disposal. All together this process is called the material economy (Kuttainen, 2013).

To other social networking sites Habbo Hotel may not be as familiar for globalisation/consumerism as to Facebook or Twitter. Yet, it is recognisable that Habbo Hotel is a globalised company that is multi-cultural; which criticises a globalisation, and online gaming network. It’s not just a network that focuses on one country; it is used throughout the world largely, allowing users all over the world to take part of. Still, this can mean that Habbo Hotel is a networking site for consumerism, which is essentially used, viewed and constantly updated as one’s secondary world, a virtual world which many online users acquire their reality world.

With the world today, globally we are using and consuming more “stuff” than what we are entitled to between our shares. Mostly the majority of the world’s products are intoxicated with chemicals, so what we know as our “stuff” can be factored at a higher cost but can be sold in marketing at a lower rate, resulting in workers who made that product to receive a lesser payment than what the purchase price is. This is called, externalizing; the true cost of production. (Kuttainen, 2013). Furthermore, Vili Lehdonvirta etal, (2009) article, which can be found on: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1630373&download=yes discusses Habbo Hotel and the consumption of several online gaming networks; social networks and its abilities of consumerism and globalisation.

Reference List:

Dicken, P. (2007). Winning and losing. In Global Shift: Mapping the changing contours of the world economy. London: SAGE Publications Inc. 

Kuttainen, V. (2013). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making Of Place, Lecture 8: Stuff [PowerPoint Slide Notes]. Retrieved From: http://learnjcu.edu.au   

Lehdonvirta, Vili Wilska, Terhi-Anna & Johnson, Mikael. (2009). VIRTUAL CONSUMERISM: Case Habbo hotel. Information, Communication & Society, 12(7), 1059-1079. DOI: 10.1080/13691180802587813

Image Credits:

Jones, G. Richard, Ph.D. (11.09.2013) Communication in the Real World: Blog. Retrieved From: http://www.richardgjonesjr.com/blog