La McDonaldizzazione del mondo nella società digitale

The McDonaldization of Society, into the digital society is in many ways the most important and dramatic of all the revisions. While the process of McDonaldization is, if anything, stronger than ever, its center has shifted dramatically over the last several decades. That new reality is accorded a significant place in this analysis. For that reason—and others—a substantial reorientation of this book is needed. From its inception in the early 1950s, and for several decades beyond that, the heart of the McDonaldization process lay in brick-and-mortar structures devoted to consumption (most notably, of course, the fast-food restaurant). However, its center has increasingly moved to the digital world, especially its consumption sites (most importantly, Amazon.com). While for the foreseeable future the vast majority of consumption will continue to take place in brick-and-mortar structures, an ever-increasing amount of it will occur online. However, there are limits to the online expansion of consumption. While there are limits to consumption on the Internet, there is no limit to the McDonaldization of consumption—and virtually everything else—online. The digital nature of sites on the Internet has made it far easier to McDonaldize them than those in the brick-and-mortar world. Big data is even more important to Amazon’s new book shops, which are shaped by the big data from its website. In addition, the book shops are collecting data of their own that will augment, and improve, the online data. While many other examples of the explosion of McDonaldization on the Internet (and in the integrated world of bricks-and-clicks) will be presented throughout this edition.