By Peter
Kaufman

Have you noticed that almost everything
these days is reviewed and rated? No matter what goods or services you use it
is likely that it will be judged by other consumers on some 4 or 5 star rating
system or with a simple thumbs up and thumbs down.

For example, this morning at the sound of my watch
alarm I took my head off my pillow,
pushed my body off my mattress,
stepped onto the bedroom carpet, and opened the blinds to let
in the morning sunlight. I walked into the bathroom to shower using my daily facial
wash, soap,
and shampoo.
I dried off with a towel
while the ceiling
fan in the bathroom pulled the moisture out of the air. I got dressed in my
typical fashion: underwear
(don’t worry, that’s not a picture of me wearing them), socks,
pants,
shirt,
and shoes.
For breakfast I used a small pot
to cook my oatmeal,
poured a glass of orange
juice, and got some filtered
water for tea.  After breakfast I cleaned my teeth using my toothbrush, toothpaste,
and mouthwash,
I put my books in my backpack,
grabbed my water
bottle and went off to work. You get the idea!

Keep in mind that these are only the rated products that I used in the first hour since waking up. Imagine how
many products would be highlighted if I kept these hyperlinks going all day? We
are clearly in a state of ratings overload.

But
products are not the only things that are subject to customer evaluations. Most
services are rated too. You probably already know that you can rate professors and teachers as well as colleges and universities and elementary and secondary schools. You
can also rate restaurants, movies, doctors, dentists, politicians,
police officers, real estate agents,
plumbers, roofers, gardeners, electricians,
banks,
hotels, vacations, airports, and airlines (you can even rate your airline seat). 

So what does all of this mean? How do we make sense of the fact that
nearly everything we buy and nearly all of the services we use are part of this
proliferating system of ratings? We know these ratings tell us something about
the goods and services we are considering. But what do all of these ratings
tell us about the society in which we live?

One classical sociological theory that
might help explain this modern-day phenomenon is
Thorstein Veblen’s
idea of conspicuous
consumption. Veblen suggested that sometimes we purchase things not because
we need them but because we want to impress others with our purchasing power.
He said that “conspicuous
consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability” for women and men in
society. In other words, one way to secure a high standing among one’s peers is
to purchase things that will impress them.

Although this theory was written in 1899 it still has resonance today. In
fact, I would argue that our desire to rate things adds another layer to
Veblen’s theory. Acquiring highly rated goods and services has the potential to
increase the status of your consumption: not only did you buy this 60” HD 3D
Plasma TV but it also received 4 stars from over 300 Amazon.com customers.
Veblen could not have predicted this additional level of conspicuous
consumption because
the dissemination of information was radically different in
the early 1900s than it is now. Nevertheless, it seems clear that both sellers
and buyers of goods and services are often aware of these ratings and use them
as a form of promotion.  

Another way to understand this dramatic
increase in ratings is to point to the potentially democratizing effect of the
Internet. One of the main reasons for the proliferation of ratings is that
technology gives us the capability to easily review, rate, and read about goods
and services. Because of the Internet, each of us can add our two-cents to the
ever-unfolding commentary about something we just purchased or some service we
just used. Ratings are no longer solely in the domain of so-called experts or
critics; instead, everyday users of products now have an equal voice in
expressing their opinions. 

Although most of the rating systems are geared exclusively to the buyers
and sellers, there are rating systems that offer a more sociological view of
goods and services. What I mean by this is that the evaluations on these
alternative rating sites are not based on customer’s contentment.  Instead, the rating takes into consideration
other factors such as the labor conditions of the workers, the company’s carbon
footprint, the use or abuse of animals, the promotion of fair trade practices,
and the company’s donations or givebacks to non-profit organizations. Rating
systems such as these are sociological because they embrace a perspective of interdependence whereby the
common good is promoted over individual satisfaction.      

One example of such a site is the Good Guide. This site rates thousands of
products from personal care to food to apparel to electronics, and the ratings
are based on the social, environmental and health impacts these products have.
You can analyze many commonly consumed products and see how they (or the
company that produces them) measure up in terms of nutrition, environmental
pollution, energy efficiency, worker’s rights, community outreach, animal
welfare, and a host of other issues.

As the holiday season kicks into high gear I imagine that many of us will
be swept up in the quest to acquire the perfect goods and services. In our
current state of excessive ratings it is difficult for any of us to be immune
from this ubiquitous system of stars and thumbs. So when these ratings pop up
on your computer screen and you experience first-hand our overrated society you
may want to ask yourself: Am I overly influenced by these ratings or just plain
overloaded?