Consumer culture – Liya B
How many times have you cleared your room and made a pile of your stuff to get rid of? Have you done this when you wanted a new wardrobe, new decorations, new furniture, new anything – just new stuff? I know I have. It was only last week that I cleared my wardrobe out because my clothes weren’t what I wanted, they were too old, or I had simply grown out of them. The pile I was going to give away split into two: one for charity and one for sale. Having done this, I felt the need to replace what I got rid of. However, I don’t need new clothes, and I don’t really want any either (except the YSL leather jacket – maybe when I have five grand handy, I will buy that). I started thinking about this, and now I have a question: is it the media that has wired us to constantly want new things, or is it the human condition of always wanting more?
Back in the 1960s, the miniskirt was just introduced to fashion by Mary Quant. You saw Twiggy in a magazine wearing one. All you had were long skirts and boring, basic fashion staples. You felt the need to have a miniskirt. This is the thought process most consumers have had since day one – since people started selling and advertising. Take the miniskirt example: it marked a social shift in the types of clothes women could wear, and it was a massive hit. This shows that the social response to fashion and the context of it play a big part in whether something is seen as desirable or not. Moving on from this, we can now buy miniskirts easily: H&M, Zara, Bershka, Mango, even M&S sell them – literally everywhere does. So how can all these brands make the same item and still have people buy it from them specifically rather than from another brand?
TikTok and Instagram are full of influencers, trend-setting, and they have a big impact on our social dynamic. The producers of these companies, which I have listed, and many others, use these platforms to promote their products. If we see something a lot then we are more likely to want it and if we see someone who is deemed as fashionable have certain clothes, items, house, car, etc. we are more likely to want it. Different companies use different people to advertise their products; therefore, they attract different audiences. This is how multiple companies can sell the same item while still making a profit, thanks to different target audiences. Whereas in the past, you would have specific shops and businesses for certain types of items.
If we compare how things are made from the past to the present day, you will find that products are not of high quality now. Take any reasonably priced brand, and you will find its products will not be made to last you a lifetime – they are made to be temporary. You may not realise this, but this is one of the reasons we throw things out and replace them: we can’t use them anymore. However, everyone loves a bargain, a dupe, a dopamine hit. The way our mindset is means that we seek to buy something cheaply rather than invest in something that will last longer. This constant use-and-replace mentality is causing producers to make the same things over and over when we don’t need to. If, as a society were to only buy good quality products, perhaps from small businesses, only buy what we need and occasionally treat ourselves, we would consume less and as a result we would reduce a lot of economic and environmental problems.
Now, what do you think? Do you buy small, useless things, follow micro trends, and use and replace items quickly? Do you think it is the producer that’s shaping this norm or the psychological need to replace and upgrade your belongings? Do you think the product design market has changed to align with consumer culture? I must say, if people from a generation ago were to see us now and our levels of consumption, they would think we are mad.
Post Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.