The Transformation of Classrooms into Commercial Video Production Studios

From the perspective of contemporary educational sociology, the classroom can no longer be viewed as an impenetrable fortress against the encroachments of capitalism. On the contrary, the classroom has adapted to become a hub and breeding ground for what is known as surveillance capitalism. In the digital era, surveillance capitalism is unavoidable. In fact, the commercialisation of education is not a new phenomenon in the digital age.

The digital era has merely initiated a new chapter of educational commercialisation. Attention has become a vital commodity in the digital business landscape. As teaching and learning activities transform into public spectacles, the curriculum is no longer just a written document distributed by the government; it has morphed into social media schemes that dictate how teachers and students must perform before the camera to accumulate digital capital, which is perceived as a potential livelihood.

In liberal economic literature, the utility of commercial institutions is to apply the principle of behaviour as a producer. Production in a liberal economy aims for ‘profit maximisation’ by reaping as much profit as possible. In reality, the commercialisation of education has existed long before the digital era, evidenced by registration fees, building fees, and even uniforms. However, the current era has turned learning activities into public entertainment. This shift is particularly concerning for families unable to afford basic school requirements like uniforms or monthly fees during the new academic year.

While the original purpose of education focused on character development and critical understanding, education is now being steered towards economic objectives. Educational institutions compete by offering programmes and selling promises of career success that are not guaranteed for everyone. This erodes the educational goal of forming rational and critical human beings.

The rise of digital content creation on platforms such as TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or Instagram within school environments signifies that learning interactions are becoming relationships between parties operating like commercial entities. The digital space is intentionally blurring the pedagogical relationship between teacher and student. This relationship is inherently private and requires a safe space for error; however, the classroom now functions as a free production studio. The classroom, which originally served as a social laboratory for natural student development, is being repurposed.

Sociologically, real classroom moments—ranging from a student’s funny innocence to incorrect answers that provoke laughter, or children’s emotional expressions—are being packaged to increase the school institution’s branding by accumulating likes and followers. The educational process is now being valued based on how viral or famous a video becomes on the internet, rather than the cognitive depth or affective maturity of the students. Consequently, a visual standardisation occurs, where authentic learning activities are often sacrificed to satisfy the weightless tastes of the digital market.

The most significant and dangerous impact of this digital shift works through the mechanism of a ‘hidden curriculum’. When students are pressured to live under the lens of a camera every day, they unconsciously absorb a dangerous market ideology. This hidden curriculum subtly teaches students that the most fundamental aspects of their humanity—such as privacy, emotional vulnerability, the struggling process of learning, and honest self-expression—are legitimate assets to be exploited to feed social media algorithms.

Educated within the ‘attention economy’—a concept introduced by Herbert A. Simon stating that human attention is a scarce resource—attention becomes a ‘currency’ where self-esteem, social validation, and existential recognition are calculated via statistical figures on a screen. Schools should educate students on privacy rights and ethical boundaries; however, these very institutions are becoming the primary source of the normalisation of privacy loss. Educational morals are being undermined by a culture of showing off, which stems not from the individual but from a culture of consumerism and image-building. According to the symbolic interactionism of George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman, such ‘showing off’ is a symbolic communication of self-image before a public audience.

This teaches students to always be ready to perform, to manipulate their expressions for the camera, and to view themselves as visual products ready for public consumption rather than as whole human subjects.

The pinnacle of this classroom commercialisation is a profound distortion in the power relationship between educators and learners. The interpersonal relationship, which should be based on principles of emancipation, empathy, and sincere guidance, is at risk. Teachers, who hold structural power in the classroom, are vulnerable to becoming irresponsible directors. Their focus is split; they are no longer fully attentive…