User:KacMDX/Hyperreality

Use Value
Use Value refers to thing's that are tangible, necessary and needed such as food and housing. Humans need these things to survive meaning it's value becomes intrinsic. An item's use value will solely depend on it's utilty.

Exchange Value
Exchange value refers to how much something is worth on the market, making it possible for for things such as jewellery to be worth more than a house, which leads to commodity fetishism. A diamond will appear more valuable not due to it's use value but due to it's exchange value on the market. So, for example, someone may purchase an expensive watch for the fact that it will not depreciate in value, rather than a simple gold chain since the price of gold fluctuates more.

Sign Value
Sign Value refers to what an object can signify, rather than it's immediate exchange or use value. Today, sign value is often the sole reason for a consumer to buy something. For example, someone purchasing a Gucci jacket may do it for it's use value, but mainly because of the brand, and wearing a more expensive brand will give the idea that said person is wealthy. Baudrillard believes that consumer items are further fetishized by their sign value, for example, a celebrity wearing a certain brand of clothing may boost sales as people perceive that brand to be more valuable than before, simply because they wore it. A good example of this was the tail fins on the back of American cars in the 1950's, despite them being counter productive they symbolised speed due to air travel at the time being glamourous and something only the rich can access. A more modern example of this is Apple, the iPhone's value isn't measured solely based off of it's utility or the price of manufacture, it also derives from other Apple products such as the Ipad, AirPods, Macbook etc. Baudrillard also argues that Sign Value is dominating in the postmodern era.

AI Influencers
Lil Miquela and Fnmeka are both examples of AI influencers, that have achieved online fame. The influencer marketing industry is currently worth $8 Billion today, and is set to be worth $15 Billion by 2022. Lil Miquela alone has accumulated over 3 Million unique followers on instagram and Fnmeka having over 201 thousand on instagram and over 9.5 Million on TikTok Lil Miquela is estimated to make around $8,500 per sponsored post, and has worked with relevant brands such as Prada and Calvin Klein, Fnmeka is a cyborg looking, AI influencer and artists that creates rap music. Fnmeka also embraces the hypebeast style. Having AI Influencers become a part of day to day life further blurs the line between what's real and what's not, aided by an ongoing worldwide pandemic that forces people to stay in-doors, so it's no surprise that people frequently view these AI's pages.