Effects of Consumerism on Modern Society. In what Aspects does Consumerism form an Identity?

Seminar paper from the year 2019 in the subject Sociology - Consumption and Advertising, grade: 1,3, University of Paderborn (Kulturwissenschaft), language: English, abstract: This term paper is set out to investigate in what aspects consumerism forms an identity and to what degree it affects modern society. In order to gather information and data, this research project will look at different Instagram accounts and groups, like "richkids__official" or "women_luxurys_life". How do they advertise certain products and in what way do these people represent themselves within a particular picture. Simultaneously, this term paper will explain the consequences of consumerism on businesses, society in general and people¿s mental health. Sources that will be needed to answer these questions, are going to be Yiannis Gabriel and Tim Lang¿s "The Unmanageable Consumer. Contemporary Consumption and its Fragmentations" from 1995, in which the different functions of a consumer are thoroughly explained and analysed. In addition, J.D. Forbes¿ "The Consumer Interest", published 1987, defines different sections in which consumerism influences society. Using these sources and explanations, this research project will try to answer the question of how consumerism forms an identity, and to what degree it thereby affects society.

"I¿m just a girl standing in front of a photo asking it to be Instagram worthy." The quote above is a re-written version of Notting Hill¿s famous sentence "I¿m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her". Comparing these situations, it can be interpreted as though the "re-written girl" just wants to have a photo worthy for Instagram in order to be loved. Therefore, this quote tells more about society than just a girl wanting to look pretty online. Nowadays, almost every person, who is able to go online, has at least heard or even registered on one or more social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.