Spaces and exchanges : What is the impact of the sharing economy on our lifestyles and traditional business ?

Spaces and exchanges

What is the impact of the sharing economy on our lifestyles and traditional business ?

 I'm going to talk about the notion Spaces and exchanges. To begin with, I'd like to give a definition of sharing economy. The sharing economy is a system built around the sharing of human and physical ressources.

        First, we will see what is sharing economy and why it has risen in recent years and secondly we will see what are the positive and the negative points of the sharing economy.

        First of all, the sharing economy connects consummers, they can transact directly with one another. Consumers can borrow, share, swap, rent goods or services that are underutilized. There is no monetary exchange. But this system of sharing is not so new. Thanks to a text studied in class, we learnt that during the second World War, Americans were encouraged to share cars in order to save gas. The gas could be used for planes and ships to help win the war. It was a patriotic thing to do. Today, there is no world war but more and more people are turning to sharing. People are fed up with comsuption and are concerned about protecting the planet. In recent years sharing economy has risen in a lot of countries. Let's take a popular example : more and more people are sharing out a bedroom in their home for travellers. In that way, travellers can spend less money but also see how people leave abroad. For the hosts, it is a way to have an extra income. It is a « win-win » proposition.

We can also take the example of a new application called « leftovers ». It is quite strange because you share your waste with unknown people. It can be a charity but a physical person too. I can understand with a can which is nit opened but not a burger !

It is possible to share tools in you want to repair something and are not used to do it or can exchange a service. You do something you know for someone and in another hand, this person does something for you.

A lot of people are engaged in the sharing economy.

        Effectively, the sharing economy attracts people who don't want to consume too much. Either they don't have a lot of money or they don't want to be a compulsive consumer.

Sharing benefits both individuals and the environment. Renters save money because they don't buy the products and it is usually less expensise than if you had call a professional provider.

A non-economic benefit is the social aspect : you can meet new people, you give a hand and so on.If you don't use a item very often, such as a tool, why not lending it ? Another time, maybe you will need something this person could lend it for you.  There is also a benefit for the environment. If you are 4 or 5 in a car, you use less petrol than if every one had use his own car. In that case, you pollute less for example.

Unfortunately, what was a good action at the beginning has turned into a « profit »  action. Some companies have remained true with their principals but others have seen a good way to make money. For example, I've read an article about the company « Uber ». This article denounces the fact that Uber proclaimed itself a sharing company unlike it has nothing to do with a mutualizing ressources but only with selling. A person said that it is even an anti-sharing company, such as AirBnB, because peolpe know how to rent their cars, their houses. Maybe before, they would just have shared them.

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