Manami Suzuki: Making What You Want Yourself—The New Generation of Prosumers Brought by Technology

With the evolution of technology and changes in the times, an era is arriving where new forms of self-sufficiency are possible. In the past, self-sufficiency was for "survival" or to embody and assert an "ideology." However, in the modern world filled with goods, self-sufficiency has become "for one's own satisfaction," and the evolution of digital technology is accelerating the world of DIY (Do It Yourself).

In this article, I would like to follow the modern form of self-sufficiency—"making and fixing what you want yourself"—from the perspective of the Maker Movement against a backdrop of environmental consideration.

I believe that the market mechanism created by the era of mass production and mass consumption is coming to an end, and the era of the prosumer is beginning in earnest. "Prosumer" is a coined term that appeared in the 1980 book "The Third Wave" by futurist Alvin Toffler, meaning Producer + Consumer.

The division between "consumer" and "producer" was born during the Industrial Revolution, when productivity improved dramatically, leading to "mass production and mass consumption" and making it possible to obtain industrial products at low cost. Later, the information revolution made it possible to obtain various types of information at low cost, while simultaneously allowing many individuals to transmit information. As a result, we have entered an era where producers cannot ignore the voices (reviews) of consumers, and the once-divided "consumer" and "producer" have begun to draw closer again, making the existence of the prosumer more prominent.

The nature of the prosumer changes with the times. Prosumers of the previous generation were characterized by having consumers participate in the development process, such as the development of the "Body Fit Sofa" started by MUJI around 2000.

However, modern prosumers, while consuming videos created by professionals, also create and distribute their own videos. While being consumers themselves, they are no longer satisfied with ready-made products and have begun to produce something unique to satisfy their own needs. Furthermore, this new generation of prosumers has a DIY orientation, represented by home carpentry and home gardening; they find value in and enjoy the "process of making things."

We cannot ignore the change in the times where the importance of "repairing"—which is neither "consumption" nor "production"—is being highlighted.

In 2015, the "SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)" were adopted at a UN summit. In February 2024, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on a proposal for a directive to introduce a consumer's "right to repair," which would make it easier for manufacturers to access repair services and mandate the provision of parts and necessary information to repairers. In several U.S. states, moves are already underway to recognize the consumer's "right to repair" for failures in electronic devices and automobiles, mandating the provision of parts, tools, and manuals necessary for repair. Consumers taking over what producers used to handle is also required by the times. From this perspective, it can be said that the existence of prosumers has become even more prominent.

In 2012, Chris Anderson's book "Makers: The New Industrial Revolution" was published, which served as a catalyst for the "democratization of manufacturing" to be widely recognized worldwide. "Democratization of manufacturing" refers to the emergence of digital machine tools such as 3D printers and maker spaces (facilities like FabLabs) where they can be used, expanding the range of manufacturing by individuals. "Maker" is a concept contrasted with "manufacturer" (manufacturing industry), which refers to manufacturing companies.

Actually, maker spaces increased explosively and showed great momentum from around 2011 to 2017, but now news of closures is constant. "TechShop," a U.S. maker space that symbolized the movement, went bankrupt in 2017, and all its locations in the country were closed. Furthermore, "Maker Faire," a leading maker event, saw its operator Maker Media go bankrupt in 2019. "Maker Faire" is a DIY exhibition and presentation held in various parts of the world. In Japan, "Maker Faire Tokyo" has been held since 2008, attracting approximately 25,000 visitors in 2018.

Based on these movements in the U.S., it was thought that the Maker Movement would shrink, but in Japan, it seems that makers are increasing rather than decreasing. This is because maker events are being held one after another across Japan. Not only the aforementioned "Maker Faire," but also events held by volunteers, such as the NT series represented by "NT Kanazawa," have increased. Incidentally, NT is an abbreviation for "Nanka Tsukuttemita" (I tried making something).

The number of people who hold not only works but the exhibitions themselves is increasing, and events are popping up one after another in various parts of Japan, such as Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Tochigi, and Gifu, giving a sense of nationwide expansion. In response to this, an increasing number of companies are encouraging and supporting individual manufacturing activities (outside of work) by employees, calling them "club activities."

Maker events are also places that embody STREAM education (a coined term combining the initials of Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics; an educational method proposed in the U.S. to survive in an increasingly complex society), where learning is cross-disciplinary and inquisitive, and ideas are generated creatively. Recently, participation by families with children has been noticeable.

I have been involved in the "Heroes League," an IT development contest for IT creators aiming for "free manufacturing," since around 2012 when this Maker Movement was proposed. During these 12 years, technology trends have changed dizzyingly—SNS, O2O (Online to Offline), IoT, Big Data, XR, Blockchain, Generative AI...—and I have watched from the sidelines as various outputs were born.

The biggest change I felt among them is that manufacturing is no longer limited to services confined to screens like apps, but has significantly increased in combination with objects shaped and output by 3D printers, etc., and the range of manufacturing that individuals can create has improved remarkably.

To use a route guidance service as an analogy, it is a change from a web app that only points out the distance and direction to the destination, to a flashlight-type device where a light shines in the direction of the destination to tell you. Both are route guidance that does not use maps, but by involving a physical "object" in addition to software, the range of expression has expanded greatly.

Furthermore, when ready-made products are expensive or do not meet their needs, many people have begun to create them themselves. From a "typewriter keyboard" created to reproduce the typing feel of a typewriter, to a "musical instrument modified from a meal ticket machine" born from the impulse to press the buttons of a meal ticket machine without limit, there are works where individual hobbies and tastes are pushed to the forefront. There are also masterpieces such as lawn-mowing robots and UFO catchers that make you wonder, "Isn't this a ready-made product sold by a manufacturer?" I am surprised by the range of what individuals can do.

Works created not for "someone else" but from the impulse that "I" want this or want to make this are a treasure trove of creativity.

In this realm of makers, one can see the appearance of "new generation prosumers" who enjoy unique ideas not seen in the era of mass production and mass consumption, as well as the process of creation. At maker events, instead of consumer-like questions such as "What is it useful for?" or "What is new about it?", questions close to the creator fly back and forth, such as "What triggered the idea?", "How did you give it shape?", and "What parts were you particular about?" There is communication there that exists precisely because they are fellow creators.

Makers do not create with big goals in mind; they create simple prototypes of ideas they come up with, show them to everyone, and in doing so, find new uses for the work or evolve it. If it breaks, they can just repair it themselves, and since they are not selling it, they do not worry about quality more than necessary. Above all, because they are moving their hands "for themselves," the process of making is fun and exciting.

Moving one's hands to give shape to things, rather than just imagining them in one's head, leads to an interest in how ready-made products work, and many people perform reverse engineering (disassembling ready-made products to understand their structure). I believe that maker manufacturing not only accelerates curiosity and creativity but also generates respect for professional producers, and will play an important role in the modern age where the "right to repair" is being questioned.

Consumers who have reclaimed the act of "making" not only create new things to satisfy their own needs but also consume things created by professional producers while extending product life by repairing and disassembling them, or modifying them into new things. They produce not only "creation" from scratch but also "generation," such as making things with available means and tools or repurposing them into something different.

I am excited to see new generation prosumers create new things never seen before, but more than that, I am paying attention to the shift from a "disposable" culture to a "culture of regeneration."

By the way, the Ishikawa Prefectural Library has a space where people can experience manufacturing using digital machine tools, and citizens who organize maker events in Kanazawa are involved in its operation. I imagine it would be interesting if makers living in the region were involved in the operation of public facilities like this, and places like the "Repair Café" originating in the Netherlands were created.