The Power of Media on Consumerist Behavior - Essay Example

Module The Power of Media on Consumerist Behavior Consumerism is based on the idea that personal well- being and satisfaction depends highly on level of consumption specifically on the purchase of goods and services. The idea is not simply founded on the fact that consumer well being is dependent on the standard of living but that at the heart of happiness is consumption of goods and services (Laroche 915). A consumerist society or individual can be defined as one that spends a lot of resources, time and resources to the consumption of goods and services. The basic view about consumerist behavior is that consumption within a society is appropriate and more consumption is deemed to be even better. In our daily lives, individuals are continually bombarded with advertisements encouraging them to buy things. These advertisements promote specific products and give an impression of a good life and what it means to be happy in the modern times (Crocker and Lehmann 45). Most people find shopping to be an exhilarating leisure activity. There are those that go deeply into debt trying to buy products that are beyond their means. Manufacturers mainly concentrate on profits and this means that they concentrate on capital gain over environmental sustainability. This means that most companies in the contemporary world are more concerned about capital gain as it is more profitable to them. On the other hand, environmental sustainability is seen as an expense to the company (Johan and Anthony 11). Some companies do not even have an environmental sustainability policy in place and instead devote all their time and resources towards capital gain which unlike environmental sustainability has immense gains for the company. Entities that fail to take issues of environmental sustainability into consideration are likely to have a reduction in the number of consumers. There has been an increase in the corporate outsourcing of the manufacture of products to developing countries. These lack appropriate safeguards against worker exploitation which is referred to as sweatshop labor. This helps companies to minimize on their labor expenses and maximize on profits (Johan and Anthony 11). However, it results to a rise in employee exploitation in developing economies since they are forced to do a lot of manual labor with minimal pay and under poor working conditions. Companies that are associated with sweatshop labor are likely to experience a decline in popularity among consumers. The media is a powerful tool that has contributed to the shape of consumerist behavior in society and this can be referred to as consumption norms (Johan and Anthony 5). Consumption norms refer to the type of consumption that individuals refer to as the ‘good life’. One way of viewing this is from the basic sociological concept of a ‘reference group’. A reference group is the class of people that individuals refer to when trying to make out how they should behave. The idea is commonly applied in psychology. On the other hand, a consumption reference group is defined as the class of individuals with whom individuals compare themselves to. Most people in society aspire to live their lives in the same way that celebrities do (Crocker and Lehmann 45). However, it can be noted that they do not simply live a bad life simply because they cannot attain such standards. This leads to the question on the definition of the standards of living and what can be described as living well. Icons impact on consumerist behavior mainly when it comes to individuals’ physical appearance. This gives individuals the fabricated and unrealistic ideals on body shape and size. This explains why companies endorse celebrities as it helps them to influence consumerist behavior. For example, individuals are more likely to buy beauty products from a company if their face is a renowned celebrity. This is owing to the fact that they think that if they use these products, they will attain some of the qualities of the icon. If an icon in society loses weight, individuals that look up to them are likely to follow suit. In the essay by Ken Dryden, The Game, various topics on hockey are discussed while looking at the celebrity status achieved by the players. The author discusses how hockey transformed his life into acquiring a celebrity status. He expresses how hockey became more than just a game to him as it gave him the celebrity status. The author uses an ironic and casual voice that reaches out to the readers in a personal way. However, he does not get away from his status as a celebrity as it is important for an icon to be articulate (Dryden 56). The article gives a description of his life before he became famous and the book is full of surprises. Athletes are dedicated to their professions and for them to be renowned globally they must win the hearts of their supporters. This has a great influence on consumerist behavior as individuals tend to imitate the icons that they look up to. According to the article, icons receive special treatment and they need to play into the public’s psyche to continue enjoying the limelight. The author acknowledges that individuals want free goods and he no longer needs to play hockey but play his game as an icon. He continues to maintain his image as an icon and his fan base keeps growing. A few decades ago, consumption was mainly influenced by the individual’s immediate environment. However, in the modern world, consumption norms are heavily influenced by the images they see on mass media mainly on TV (Crocker and Lehmann 65). The reference group is no longer outlined by ‘keeping up with the Kardashians next door’ but by the reality show that is frequently shown in sitcoms and advertisements. The apartments and homes that are shown in sitcoms are not the characteristic homes that can be afforded by a regular family around the median income. Furthermore, research on the influence of television shows that advertisements on mass media increase how affluent society is. In other words, the mass media gives a picture of a middle class that matches the higher side of the income distribution. Consequently, a gap arises between what individuals feel they should consume and what they can afford. Witold Rybczynski’s “Nostalgia” discusses the topic of Western culture. The author expounds on the idea Ralph Lauren as an orchestrator of images and a total fashion designer. In the conclusion, he makes a point that nostalgia for the past is a sign of consumer dissatisfaction with the present. He states that most consumers would opt for antique items if their budget would permit them. Home is thereby a critique of contemporary design and architecture. He argues that the Great depression led to a decline in Art Deco style as the new architecture was meant for mass production that was necessary for the reconstruction of the economic boom after the war (Zimmerman 34). It can be noted the definition of vintage items varies across various nations and times. The article gives a chronological account of the understanding of the concept of comfort or satisfaction. In the seventeenth century, comfort was defined as privacy that resulted into privacy, intimacy and eventually turned into domesticity (Zimmerman 56). In the eighteenth century comfort or satisfaction referred to ease or leisure while the nineteenth century focused on mechanically supported comforts such as heat, ventilation and light. In the twentieth century, engineers mainly paid attention to convenience and efficiency. He stated that the idea of comfort or satisfaction has changed significantly over the years owing to external forces in the social, technological and economic spheres. In summary, one must look back into history to discover and understanding the meaning of the concept of comfort or consumer satisfaction (Zimmerman 56). Comfort is viewed as the concept whose history leads to and gives the real understanding of the definition of ‘home’. Recent studies have shown that consumers prefer social status over physical well-being and fiscal well- being. Social status refers to the rank of individuals in society based on social stratification aspects such as income, education, occupation and any other qualifications that impact on the purchase pattern and overall consumer behavior (Laroche 915). The social status of individuals shows distinctive brand preferences for goods that are known to be luxuries including cars, expensive jewels and furnishings. Prestige, wealth and power are frequently used in evaluating social status. Social status may be used as a yardstick for segmenting markets and may show consumers’ aspirations. Members of the same socials status share comparable behaviors, interests and values. This is of importance as they also share similar consumption and purchasing patterns. It is clear that consumer behavior is affected by social status and when individuals buy goods, it is not for them to utilize but to let others notice that they can afford them. For example, an individual may buy a prestigious car and forget to pay for their medical bills and savings. They hope that the product reflects their social status and fail to take into account their physical and fiscal well-being as they seem less important in this context (Laroche 918). Consumers attach a higher value to their social status than to their economic or physical well- being. The choice of consumer products is greatly affected by the social influence and the group an individual belongs to. Works Cited Crocker, Robert and Lehmann, Steffan. Motivating Change: Sustainable Design and Behavior in the Built Environment. Routlegde. 2013. Print. Dryden, Ken. The Game. 2005. Wiley. Print. Heinonen, Kristina. “Consumer activity in social media: Managerial approaches to consumers social media behavior.” Journal of Consumer Behavior, 10 (2011): 356–364. Print. Iqani, Mehta. Consumer Culture and the Media: Magazines in the Public Eye. Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Print. Johan Bruwer, Anthony Saliba, Bernadette Miller. "Consumer behaviour and sensory preference differences: Implications for wine product marketing", Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28. 1 (2011): 5-18. Print. Laroche, Michel. “New Developments in modeling Internet Consumer Behavior.” Journal of Business Research (2009): 915-918. Print. Zimmerman, Jean. Made from Scratch: Reclaiming the Pleasures of the American Hearth. Simon and Schuster, 2003. Print. Read More