The Meaning of Online Shopping Behavior in the Perspective of Jean Baudrillard's Social Logic of Consumption: (Case Study in Surabaya City)

In an era where the Cartesian dictum 'Cogito, ergo sum' has collapsed, replaced by 'I shop, therefore I am', consumption behaviour is no longer merely an economic activity, but a desperate attempt by the subject to assert existence amidst ontological emptiness. This paper posits the thesis that online shopping in Surabaya constitutes not merely the fulfilment of utilitarian needs, but an existential ritual wherein individuals construct their pseudo-identities through the manipulation of signs within the realm of hyperreality. Utilising Jean Baudrillard’s Social Logic of Consumption and George Ritzer’s concept of Non-places, this qualitative study analyses how digital platforms function as fractured mirrors reflecting a narcissistic desire for status and 'newness'. The findings indicate that the modern subject is entrapped in the simulacra of consumption: purchasing 'non-objects' devoid of essential use-value to patch over social anxiety and self-alienation. In this landscape, the 'click' at the checkout is the sole moment the subject feels truly 'present', even if such presence is merely an illusion produced by capitalist algorithms.