A new global commodity is expanding at remarkable speed — not artificial intelligence, rare minerals, or energy, but the “self.” In the digital era, identity, emotions, relationships, and personal narratives have become raw material for extraction and profit. From OTT platforms to banking algorithms, from social media storytelling to global news cycles, the commodification of human sociality is reshaping economies, politics, and culture. For policymakers and civil services aspirants, this transformation raises critical questions about privacy, regulation, capitalism, and democratic values.
From Industrial Capitalism to Social Capital Extraction
Classical industrial capitalism focused on extracting surplus value from labour and commodities. In the 21st century, the site of extraction has shifted from factories to social life itself. Human interactions — friendships, preferences, digital footprints, consumption habits, and political inclinations — are now systematically mined through data analytics and algorithmic profiling.
Unlike traditional commodities, the self is infinitely renewable. Every interaction generates new data. Every click, selfie, or opinion feeds platforms and corporations. What was once private — intimacy, trust, emotion — has been converted into economic input. This marks a qualitative shift: capitalism no longer extracts only labour; it extracts identity.
Blurring the Global and the Local in Story Markets
The transformation of the self into commodity is closely tied to a global hunger for stories. Publishers, streaming platforms, news networks, and digital platforms constantly search for “local” narratives that can travel globally. Migration, conflict, drugs, gender identities, and climate change become portable themes.
Local events are rapidly inserted into global circuits of media attention. A smartphone video from a remote town can trigger international debates. This reshapes the meaning of locality: it is no longer isolated or parochial but embedded in global networks of consumption and visibility.
As a result:
- “Local” stories are curated for global audiences.
- Ordinary individuals become narrative actors in global media cycles.
- National identities are rebranded through storytelling for soft power and cultural export.
The market for selves thus operates beyond the simple binary of global versus local. It creates a hybrid narrative geography.
OTT Platforms and the Democratisation of Identity
The rise of Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming platforms has accelerated this shift. Companies such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney rely on internet-based distribution rather than traditional media infrastructure. Their business model depends on an endless supply of fresh, relatable, culturally diverse stories.
Streaming has:
- Elevated “ordinary” characters and mid-tier actors.
- Encouraged region-specific content with global appeal.
- Promoted hyper-personalised recommendations based on user data.
This appears to democratise storytelling. Yet it also intensifies profiling. Algorithms track viewing behaviour, emotional responses, and preferences, turning entertainment into a feedback loop of data extraction. The self becomes both performer and product.
Artificial Intelligence and the Fragmented Individual
The rise of AI-driven systems deepens this commodification. Digital assistants and chatbots increasingly simulate empathy, intuition, and emotional intelligence. What was once uniquely human — judgement, affect, narrative coherence — is now replicated and monetised.
The classical notion of a unified individual is fragmenting. Today, identity is distributed across:
- Credit scores and financial histories.
- Consumer profiles and targeted advertising data.
- Social media personas and algorithmic rankings.
- Biometric and behavioural databases.
The “selfie culture” symbolises this transformation — the self curated, displayed, and validated through digital visibility. Identity becomes modular, performative, and economically valuable.
The Political Economy of Storytelling
Two powerful assumptions now drive the global market:
- Every individual has a story.
- Every story deserves an audience.
This fuels influencer economies, crowdfunding, brand-building, and identity politics. Personal narratives of victimhood, heroism, or redemption are amplified for reach and monetisation. The boundary between journalism, entertainment, activism, and advertising blurs.
At the macro level, nations and corporations also craft stories to attract investment, tourism, or geopolitical influence. Soft power increasingly depends on narrative control rather than military strength alone.
However, this chain of storytelling raises ethical and regulatory challenges:
- Erosion of privacy and informed consent.
- Algorithmic manipulation and misinformation.
- Commercialisation of trauma and social conflict.
- Concentration of power in digital platforms.
Implications for Governance and Democracy
The commodification of the self challenges existing regulatory frameworks. Traditional laws were designed for tangible goods and defined services. They are ill-equipped to govern data flows, cross-border digital platforms, and algorithmic decision-making.
For democratic societies, key concerns include:
- Data protection and digital sovereignty.
- Platform accountability and content moderation.
- Protection of vulnerable communities from narrative exploitation.
- Balancing innovation with fundamental rights.
India, with its vast digital population and growing OTT ecosystem, stands at the centre of this transformation. As digital public infrastructure expands, questions of ownership and governance of personal data become central to public policy.
What to Note for Prelims?
- Concept of surplus value in capitalism.
- Difference between traditional media and OTT platforms.
- Key features of data-driven digital economies.
- Basics of data protection and privacy frameworks.
What to Note for Mains?
- Examine how digital capitalism transforms identity into commodity.
- Discuss implications of data extraction for democracy and privacy.
- Analyse the role of OTT and AI in reshaping cultural production.
- Evaluate policy measures required to regulate digital platforms while preserving innovation.
