Hello, everyone! How many apps did you open today? Ordering coffee via Coupang Eats, scrolling through YouTube Shorts on your commute, checking friends’ updates on Instagram Reels—these are now everyday routines. But have you ever thought that all this is like a play unfolding on the grand stage called ‘platform’? Today, guided by the book Reality Shock, let’s turn the final page together to see what future this massive current dominating our lives will create.
First Stage: The “Platform Economy” That Dominates Without Ownership
The story begins with the “platform economy.” In the past, building cars required huge factories, and transporting passengers needed taxi companies. But what about now? The world’s largest transportation company, Uber, owns not a single car, and the biggest lodging company, Airbnb, owns no houses.
This is the magic of platforms. Instead of owning products like cars or houses, they provide a marketplace connecting drivers and passengers, hosts and travelers. They earn huge profits by taking commissions on every transaction within this platform. YouTube is no different. It doesn’t create a single video itself but offers a stage for creators worldwide to upload content and sells viewers’ attention to advertisers. Platforms have become a new power that ‘dominates’ the entire market without ‘owning’ anything.
Second Stage: The “Emotional Economy” Traded Through “Subscriptions” and “Support”
With this glamorous platform stage set, a new product emerged: our “emotions.” Whereas celebrities were once distant objects of admiration, today’s influencers deeply penetrate subscribers’ daily lives, selling intimacy.
Remember the controversial “hidden ads” scandal in South Korea? Many subscribers felt betrayed when popular YouTubers claimed, “I bought this with my own money,” but the products were actually advertisements. This happened because we weren’t just consuming their product reviews—we were consuming the feelings of ‘sincerity’ and ’trust’ they conveyed. Also, Twitch donations to game streamers or one-on-one paid messages with idols on fan community platforms like “Bubble” clearly show how emotions such as sadness, joy, and comfort are directly converted into monetary value. We willingly open our wallets for their emotional labor.
Third Stage: The “Data Stream” That Knows Me Better Than I Do
So how do platforms precisely see through our emotions and turn them into money? The secret lies in the “real-time data stream,” that is, algorithms. Every moment we spend on a platform becomes data, feeding massive AI learning.
TikTok’s “For You” feed is a prime example. If you watch a dog video 3 seconds longer or finish a dance challenge video, TikTok’s algorithm immediately learns this. The next moment, your feed fills with cute dog videos and new dance challenges. Instagram’s “Explore” tab works similarly. If you recently searched for camping gear, your feed soon overflows with camping site recommendations, outdoor clothing ads, and camping YouTuber reels. Platforms detect what we desire faster than we do and relentlessly bombard us with content and ads that stimulate those desires. We believe we choose freely, but in reality, we are surrendering to a finely designed data flow.
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Fourth Stage: The “Virtual Economy” That Surpasses Reality
Platforms, emotions, and data have merged to reach the “virtual economy.” The digital world is no longer just a mimicry of reality but a massive economic system and another reality itself.
A notable example is the global metaverse platform Roblox. Luxury brand Gucci held a virtual exhibition called “Gucci Garden” on Roblox and sold limited-edition digital “Dionysus Bags” for avatars. Astonishingly, one digital bag sold at auction for about $4,115 (approximately 4.7 million KRW), more expensive than the real bag’s retail price. Also, on Naver’s ZEPETO, users design and sell avatar outfits, earning virtual currency “Zem” that can be exchanged for cash, with some “item creators” making millions of KRW monthly. This strongly proves that luxury ownership and creative activities in virtual worlds are directly linked to the real economy.
Final Stage: The Future Society We Will Face
Where will this massive current lead our future? Let’s imagine some changes.
First, the boundary between “work” and “play” will completely dissolve. Just as people already earn a living playing P2E (Play to Earn) games like Axie Infinity, future jobs may involve completing quests in virtual worlds or decorating avatars attractively to sell influence. This will shake the concept of stable employment and accelerate the era of “one-person entrepreneurs” competing by capitalizing on their time, emotions, and data.
Second, an era of confusion over which is the real identity—“the real me” or “the virtual me”—will come. An avatar with thousands of followers on ZEPETO or Roblox may have more influence than the humble real-world self. People will invest more time and money in expressing themselves freely beyond physical constraints, building new relationships, and cultivating digital identities in virtual worlds.
Finally, new forms of social inequality will emerge. Whereas the past divided people by land or capital ownership, the future may see a society where a few “big tech” companies owning platforms and data, and “mega influencers” with overwhelming influence monopolize wealth and power. The majority may live providing unstable digital labor within the algorithmic flows they design.
We stand now at the gateway of the greatest transition in human history. The new world opened by platforms promises infinite opportunities and convenience but also commodifies our emotions, data, and identities, creating new controls and inequalities. Facing this massive wave of change, what future will we choose and create? The answer lies not in technology but in ourselves.