The Effects Of Consumerism On Our Self-Identity
Consumerism is the protection of consumer interests. Consumerism is a concern in many other countries, not only in the United States. The overproduction of goods is the rationalization behind our greed. We are given endress goods to choose from, which is the origin of our materialism. The more options we are given, the more we desire to obtain the goods available. Some psychological problems are caused by consumerism and affect our daily lives. Consumerism has also become a symbol of competition in our society. We allow ourselves to become controlled by the world of consumerism. The act of consumption has become a daily action that every consumer performs. Our mentality is affected by consumption
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We determine our self-identity by assessing ourselves and determining our beliefs. Our beliefs can be affected by many things such as how materialistic we are. The publisher of Self-Identity And The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Paul Sparks and Richard Shepherd states that “...we believed that people's self identities would find expression in their attitudes…” which they do (Sparks, Shepherd 389). The position we take on every subject, including consumer needs, is where our self-identities can be truly seen. Fairchild, Emily, and Suzanna Crage wrote that “Consumers are well aware of the unfulfilling nature of consumerism, but recognize that in our society it is the only possible way to live (Fairchild, Emily, Crage 410).” The implication they are making is that we are aware of the unsatisfying results of consumption but in the society we live in, we must compete to survive. There is a competition in our society that makes us believe we must live a certain way or we will not be accepted by other people. Although we are aware of that our consumer will not bring happiness, we still lean towards them for self-satisfaction. In the article , they write about the role that consumption plays in finding our selves. The products we consume are what identify us and who we are. For instance, people who have insecurities will mostly want to consume products that makes them feel better about themselves and about their …show more content…
Oliver C. Cox writes, in his paper Estates, Social Classes, And Political Classes, “The class does not arise in a natural way, but it is created artificially (Cox 465).” We refer to the invisible social classes created by society as a portion in our community where we wish to be a part of. Being a part of a certain social class indicates that we belong together or the coming together of similar people. When we say we want to “fit in” we are referring these invisible classes. A good example of the invisible social structure is in high school. There are many types of kids who attend high school and because of the differences they have most students don't even know each other for the 4 years they attend school together. For example, kids who are rich or have certain clothing styles will befriend each other but the rest will either have a smaller circle of friends or go through high school with little to no friends. The division of students in high school is only an example of what happens in everyday adult life. Owners of big corporations see themselves as superior and untouchable so they ignore regulations that have been set. This leave the helpless employees as the victims of their embezzlements. Their employees end up cheated out of money and benefits. In the article “Who Stole the American Dream?” by Hedrick Smith, the issue of big corporations stealing money from their employees is strongly addressed. Smith states
The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.
Socioeconomics, marketing strategies, culture, consumerism, and an excess of words that can be found in any given Sociology 101 required text book will explain the world’s generational desire fore more and better. However, a few brilliant authors wrote on this topic within a writing textbook. Stephanie Clifford and Quentin Hardy, the authors of “Attention, Shoppers: Store is Tracking Your Cell,” explain how consumerism has lead to discrepancies in consumer privacy. Steve McKevitt, author of “Everything Now,” introduces the idea that consumers have become too comfortable with the fast convenience of today’s new world and how that contributes to societal issues. James Roberts, author of “The Treadmill of Consumption,” describes how society consuming and over-consuming rapidly and how that effects the economy and culture. While these three authors have touched on very different subjects, the combination of Robert’s, McKevitt’s, and Clifford’s and Hardy’s work reveals how much
Swimme, Brian. “How Do Our Kids Get So Caught Up in Consumerism”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 155-157. Print.
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
Juliet Schor in “The New Consumerism,” concedes with the fact that Americans consume ample amounts of materials as a result of trying to keep up with another family
...ecome so reliable and dependats to their gadgets and materials than on people that if taken away, distress and unhappiness usually is an end result though theyr are just mere objects. However people may argue that consumers are the key to businesse success, they are also producers them selves though its true that without needs and wants, out world woudnt be that modernaized and advance as its today but consumers are just given mere importance for their loyalty to the products and play their part which is just to consume whatever is thrown at them despite any freedom in choices or decision making. Hence we consumers have been given importance as the’ public opnion’ and given the spotlight, but sadly unless we realize that this is all a game of manipulation we will continue to trapped in the shadows of the cave just like the prisoners in Plato’s Allegory of the cave.
Additional four aspects of consumer personality have also been given, which include consumer materialism, innovativeness, compulsiveness, and ethnocentrism. Both Freudian and Non-Freudian aspects can be at play in influencing the consumer to purchase VW. Internally, consumer might have realized that the current car is not safe or that it consumes too much gas or has outdated design. Externally, the consumer might have got the desire to purchase a new car after seeing a friend, who drove a new car, because of inherent competitiveness. So, both Freudian and Non-Freudian aspects of personality could have played a role. In addition, consumer materialism can be another determinant of consumer’s desire to purchase a new car. The intent of the consumer to purchase a new car resulting from Non-Freudian aspects of personality is indicator of consumer materialism. Additional personality factor which are likely to influence are the lifestyle and social status of the person and how they impact the
Many theorists suggest that consumption is correlated to the identity of an individual, that by purchasing goods from the mass market, it enables us to visibly establish our position within society. This differs from previous times in which a range of factors such as family histories, character and personal achievements played a significant role (Gabriel and Lang, 2006). Instead, there is the idea that the consumer has the ability to gain pleasure over objects, not just solely by the manipulation of objects, but through the degree of control over their meaning. The degree of control is developed and achieved through imagination and provides greater possibilities of pleasure experiences. This suggests that modern consumption can be seen as device that enables individuals to ‘dream’ about the desires they wish to fulfill. (Campbell, 1989: 79) (Cited in Gabirel & Lang, 2006)
...s’ rather than ‘consumers’. We should consume on our own terms and thus learn to define our own desires instead of merely accepting the choice that the market offers us.
Identity can be defined as a direct image of a person's appearance, thoughts, feelings and behaviour (Americus Reed, Mark R. Forehand, 2012). It is how people see themselves and how others see them. According to Maslows hierarchy of needs, self-actualization needs at the top of the pyramid model which is the need of human hope to realize their potential and get self-satisfaction. Consequently, identity is the best embodiment of such indicators of this need. In addition to this, consumer behavior is the basic study of marketing decisions and the development of marketing strategies.
Therefore, creating an insecure self. image of the consumer. The consumer begins to exert feelings of insecurity in their own physical appearance, and their own personality. This can lead to eating disorders such as bulimia. and anorexia and a snoring disorder.
The connection between consumer behavior and social class has been outlined by many theorists stressing variation in values, lifestyles and general consumption goals. Research has shown that consumption patterns are highly influenced by a consumer’s social class. Mcnall states that the function of consumption focuses on self-identification; “we actively purchase and consume, engage in display of our goods, as a way of telling people who we are, or who we wish to become” (1990). It is maintained that lifestyle is an expression of one’s class position. Bourdieu believes that consumption and ‘taste’ is socially conditioned, and that a consumers choice of products will reflect a symbolic hierarchy that is determined and maintained by the socially dominant in order to enforce a distance from other classes of society.
We can conclude that from today's ever changing society, our consumption reflects and validates our personalities. Thus, furthermore shaping our lifestyles, identities and individual tastes to our peers, families and even strangers whom we pass in the street. We can also see that what a person does to earn a living is now seemingly unimportant. Today, we tend to conform to the image of wealth and social standing to identify with the lifestyle we have created for ourselves.
In accordance with Van Thompson in his article What Is Consumer Culture? The drawbacks because of consumer culture, emphasizes the happiness brought about by material things, it can encourage people to overspend. Personal debt is a significant financial problem in the United States, and this is attributable at least in part to overspending. Consumer culture can be associated with greed, and may create a vicious cycle wherein an individual repeatedly buys things to be happy or keep up with neighbors, but must continue doing so to maintain happiness.2
The quote above was taken from Marcuse’s book “One dimensional man.”(1964) Marcuse believed that the products of consumer capitalism indoctrinate and manipulate society to promote a false consciousness of needs which become a way of life. He saw this as another form of totalitarianism which binds consumers to producers and uses the pleasures of consumer lifestyle as instruments of control and domination. Therefore the question arises whether the culture of consumerism poses a profound threat to the freedom and individuality of the consumer.