Consumer culture became a popular topic for sociological studies in the 1990s as academics realized that consumption was noteworthy, independent of its connections. Consumerism is a huge part of our society, so much so that it is difficult to separate it from everyday life as a phenomenon in its own right. There are many different sociological perspectives which can be applied to consumer culture; two such viewpoints are the Functionalist Perspective, which asserts that consumerism is necessary for the good of society, and the Conflict Perspective, which argues that consumerism only serves the corporations selling the products, and not the consumers themselves. These two perspectives provide an obvious contrast with one another. While both perspectives make logical sense in their own rights, the Conflict Perspective takes a more critical approach, making it arguably more trustworthy and thorough than the Functionalist Perspective.
According to Eric Arnould, “Consumer culture is a social system in which consumption is dominated by the consumption of commercial products” (Arnould 1). This definition is helpful as it points out the significance of consumerism as a “social system.” The phenomenon is so massive that it is difficult to imagine a society without it. However, interestingly, Arnould goes on to say: “In consumer culture, the transmission of cultural values, norms, and customary ways of doing things between generations is largely carried out through the exercise of private, personal choice” (Arnould 1). The assertion that consumerism is carried out by personal choice is problematic. Sophisticated advertising targets people in such a way that it is possible to claim that they are not acting on personal choice when they decide to purchase a product. Commercials often sell a certain lifestyle along with the actual product: for example, a car company might imply that owning a certain car will make the driver popular at work. This combination of selling techniques could inevitably lead to a person purchasing the car because they want more popularity at work, even though rational thought tells them that this is not likely. Nevertheless, Arnould’s statement if probably broadly correct as, despite the obvious pressures of consumerism, people ultimately make their own choices over whether or not to engage in it.
Consumerism is significant feature of Western culture. People become familiar consumerism at young ages, starting perhaps with watching television commercials for toys and fast food. Companies spend a lot of time and money researching different groups of people to target, at what time of day, and how to market effectively towards that specific group. Advertising is a massive industry and can work on people without them even being aware of it. After all, if advertising didn’t work, companies would not invest so heavily into it. Analyzing consumer culture from different sociological perspectives can reveal new elements of consumerism, as well as allow sociologists to interpret the phenomenon fairly.
The Functionalist Perspective takes the stance that culture is a phenomena that bonds society members together and that all elements of a certain culture are necessary in order to fulfill its members needs. A defender of the Functionalist Perspective would argue that consumerism and advertising both function out of necessity, to ensure a healthy economy and therefore, economic stability for the society’s people. Without consumerism, members of society would have fewer job opportunities and economic wealth. Also, they would not have access to many products and services that make them happy. Without consumerism, prices would rise and many people could no longer afford certain products. Furthermore, according to this perspective, consumerism provides people with the opportunity to express their personal identities, through which products they choose to buy. For example, a person may choose their jeans depending on what kind of image they wish to portray to other people in society. While this view seems to make logical sense in some respects, it has some obvious problems. If consumerism did not exist then, for example, people may find alternative means to express their personal identities. Arguably, true self-identity is about personality and values, rather than about superficial preferences regarding cars or clothing.
The Conflict Perspective adopts a more critical method of analyzing consumer culture. It asserts that culture only seeks to enhance the lives of the capitalism. Relating this to consumerism, the Conflict Perspective argues that rich companies gain a great deal more from consumerism than the individuals who buy the products. According to this view, corporations continually inform consumers that in order to progress in society, and be popular with peers, they must purchase products. Furthermore, there is no end to this. There is no one product that will ensure popularity and status; once the person has purchased this product, commercials then inform them that they need to purchase something else. Young people in schools and colleges often succumb to the consumer culture, feeling badly if their family cannot afford to buy the latest clothes or cars, compared to children from wealthier backgrounds. This early exposure to consumerism ensures that children grow into adults who value purchasing products, believing on some level that such purchases will improve their lifestyles.
While both the Functional Perspective and the Conflict Perspective provide interesting views on consumerism, the latter approaches the topic more critically, making it the more trustworthy and pensive. Consumer culture is an important part of Western society. It is difficult to know exactly when the culture became so overwhelming, but now it seems that our society is stuck with it. Therefore, it is imperative that individuals are aware of the nature of consumerism and therefore are well equipped to make independent decisions, rather than succumbing to the power of advertising.
Works Cited
Arnould, Eric. “Society, Culture and Global Consumer Culture.” Wiley Online Library. 2010. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.
