Let’s Talk About Cancel Culture in the Market of the Ordinary
Unsubscribe, when you don’t like HOW you are treated as a
customer.
There is a term in the current times that somehow brings
ripple waves in the mindset of the social media savvy listeners. This term is called “cancel culture”, a phrase that
pervades social media, even way before the pandemic had set in.
It is a term that refers to a movement (apologizing, this descript is simplified and not lifted) that calls on people to put forward or talk hype about a transgression-- of a person, an action, or an occurrence. To cancel and hyper-accentuate a grievance or a fault made, enough to be known by many.
The objective can be to raise awareness of a fault or to
point out a flaw in a person.
To cancel may not necessarily mean to remove or eradicate
in a real-life context. But indirectly, it could mean a removal in the system
that is driven by expectations, or molded realities; of following a standard or
a norm. Cancel culture happens when there is a deviation in the actions and expectations
of people.
Away from defining cancel culture as an ideology, but
further considering the term in the context of consumerism, cancel
culture could be the explanation that can be given when a person unsubscribes
from an account or refuses to remain on a social platform.
Cancel culture can also be perceived in a way that is to cease
from accepting a certain standard that we opinionate must NOT persist in a product,
a service, etc.
For example, we unfollow a social media account when it no
longer fits our bill of likes. We cancel an order when we have a change of preferences
in our buying habits. Or we cancel a service when a utility company no longer
serves us well.
Cancel culture may not always focus on an erring behavior, a
person, or an occurrence. Cancel culture can mirror an ideational attitude among
consumers that pushes them to delete or back out from pursuing a purchase instead
of venting out the fault in a product by way of reviews. This is to avoid the hassle of experiencing further inconveniences later on.
At least, in the market for the ordinary, cancel culture is much more active because
every cent has a value and every expectation must be met.
There is value in giving value to order cancellations when one
sees the prospect of further improving a product, a service, or a business
reputation. Marketers must not see it as a reason to dwell on a fail, or to
hold a grudge against a customer. Cancel culture asserts a democracy of likes
and unlikes expression; opinion sharing and choice pursuing. Cancel culture must not be taken as a normative
way to deny life or rights but as a mode to express disallowable goods or products, and business standards that are not dignified enough for consumers to accept. Cancel culture enlists an opinion on our wants as an
individual. And pushes for set ideals that must be met even when we stand in the most
unideal of times, as consumers of local products.
