This is the world we belong to where the trend report has become “I shop therefore I am”.
Consumer culture
To use up, to spend wastefully, to destroy
Consume
If there is consumption, there is_____
Production
Every person has this, therefore choices are important. As a consumer, this comes with responsibility and obligation.
Free will
It is about practicing responsible buying habits.
Conscious consumption
In 1993, Mach argued that ____ is a symbolic idea. It is an image we build for ourselves through social interaction. Thus it is dynamic and context-dependent.
Identity
What are the factors that affect identity?
Social relations of power
Symbolic image of the world.
In the 1950s, identity was derived from:
Erik Erikson, psychologist
How is identity referred to?
A social category
Socially distinguishing features
SLATER outlined some main features and characters in consumer culture, and they are: 6
- Consumer culture is a culture of consumption.
- Consumer culture is the culture of market society.
- Consumer culture is universal and impersonal.
- Consumer culture identifies freedom with private choice and life.
- Consumer needs are insatiable and unlimited.
- Consumer culture is a privileged medium for building personal identity and status.
We tend to compare ourselves with some other people. ______ reinforces this tendency.
Social media
Consumerism makes people active consumers on a regular basis. Thus consumerism not only affects our behavior, but it also affects our ______
Thinking process
What are the problems with consumerism?
6
- It is intrusive
- It is manipulative.
- It cannot provide many of the things that are important to us.
- It restricts our choices and lives.
- It affects our worldviews and characters.
- It is unsustainable.
What does society need to move away from the culture of consumerism?
A cultural shift
How can we avoid the trap of consumerism?
- Exercise intellectual dependence
- Consume less, live more
