Consumption And Identity Essay

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CONSUMPTION IS NOW THE MAJOR INFLUENCE ON OUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES. DISCUSS USING AN EXAMPLE.

Consumption refers to the purchase and the use of goods and services and as Campbell (1995) further enhances this definition, consumption also refers to ‘selecting it, maintaining it, possibly repairing it and ultimately disposing of it in some way’. We currently live in a society in the 21st century where consumption has reached its zenith, this process of consumption is something we encounter in our lives abundantly. This essay focusses on the topic, Consumption is now the major influence on out individual identities. My viewpoint towards this statement is that yes, consumption is a largely influential factor, but is it the major influence? …show more content…

In this consumer society a quite dominant term worth defining is consumerism, people living in this consumer society identify consumption as the focal point and the most central aspect in constructing individual identities (Woodward, 2015). Such a construction of a society with its sole focus on consumption can also be seen as an effect of the industrial revolution in the 1600 s which led to the availability of innumerable numbers of goods and services waiting to be consumed. The current view on goods and services according to Baudrillard …show more content…

According to Woodward (p.180) the home is seen as the largest economic investment people make which is said to have enduring cultural salience in Australia. People spend vast amounts on furnishing their houses they may purchase an Italian leather couch, a large HD television and expensive paintings. As Boyd (1968) states, since the 1920s’ houses were being decorated with abstract paintings and such paintings gave a sense of modern architecture in turn increasing social grace in a particular house’ ( p107- 108). So people construct and furnish their houses in a way that would reflect their individual identity, socio- economic background all which is done by choosing the correct products as mentioned above. So this example of a house gives us a clear understanding of how this consumer society works to shape

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