Extended Self and Consumerism - Essay Example

? Extended Self and Consumerism Introduction We live in the age of conspicuous consumption. That is why it is difficult to make a decision whether there is a limit between a human desire to get a product or not. How far can we reach when we want something? In the article by Belk it is evident that all our desires and possessions can be correlated with our beliefs, wants, and inner desires.  Thus, we can say that we shape our identities with respect to those objects we have or want to possess. There are some basic categories, which people have and they can divide their possessions with respect to these categories. For example, some of us are focused on personal comfort and buy cars; some other people want to collect money or some trifles to satisfy their aesthetic desires, needs and wants. It is possible to claim that Oscar Wilde's main characters were often considered about their appearance to the greatest extent. These ideas are relevant to the modern context, because they underline that people appreciate their appearance and buy the objects of art, luxury or jewelry just to look good. In other words, people create their own images by means of different products and objects. To correlate the principles of consumerism with our daily behaviors in the market, it is necessary to have a strong theoretical background and up-to-date empirical material. The works by Belk (1988) and Goffman (1990) are illustrated by blogs of the consumers in the Internet. Consumerism and Blogs Belk claims that "if involuntary loss of possessions causes a loss of self, one of the primary reactions following such loss should be an attempt at self-restoration. This phenomenon has been observed in psychoanalysis and has led to the hypothesis that, along with body loss, object loss is the fountainhead of creativity" (Belk, 1988). Therefore, we can claim that the things we own reflect our inner stability. We are well-balanced personalities in case we feel all right and feel our ability to buy a thing or object we want. It sounds like individuals are not complicated individuals. We do not need much, but we want much. Now, when there is a perfect opportunity to share your aspirations with the global community, we are pleasantly sharing this opportunity and use this chance perfectly. When we buy pets, very often we subconsciously chose those breeds, which will look like us. We extend our selves in our dogs; we want to become their masters and parents at the same time. In one blog post there was a commentary about a similar nature of a dog and a master of a dog: "We spend money on our dogs, pampering them with fancy collars and toys.  Investing in our pets has become a part of being a pet owner, and it speaks of our morals as pet owners.  If someone refuses to take their sick pet to the vet it’s similar to declining to take a child to the doctor" (The Extended Self). From this perspective pets are associated with our desire to nourish ourselves, or extended part of us as much as we want.   On the basis of several blog posts by Chinese consumers we will talk about correlation between the extended self and intentions of buyers to get some products or goods. A purpose of modern blogs can be considered as a means for consumer culture promotion. Cyberspace is a modern plane for promotion of desires and interests of the customers in some goods. Blog is a unique means for self-expression online. It is a kind of a modern diary, which can include up-to-date photos and music. Incomes and urban consumer culture is being developed at a full pace in China. Of course, it is more natural of women to update their information about blogs if they talk about their purchases. Thus, "Jessie” updates the world on her blog about new additions to her private closet, and discusses her favorite possessions ranging from a pair of Converse shoes to Abercrombie shirts. She writes about what she already has and laments what she could not afford to have" (Xin Zhao, Belk 2007). On the one hand, this girl does not have any problems and she can hardly be considered an intellectual girl. She is interested in material things and latest fashion is more interesting for her than the latest books, for example. It is neither bad nor good, it is just cannot be criticized too strictly, because each of us lives the way he/she wants. On the basis of blogs it is possible to see the way they influence the lives of people and the way the latest fashion trends influence modern lifestyles of people. Very often blogs are oriented on consumption and it is appropriate for the modern businesses to follow the current trends of fashion. There is a certain group of blogs, which is specially oriented on the ideas about consumption. These blogs are focused on the global consumer culture and they are concentrated on a consumer behavior online. In terms of a consumer's behavior online it can be seen the way the consumerism is cultivated. We have already mentioned consumerism for several times. We should define it in a definite form: "Consumerism is the value system in which consumption is naturalized as the source of meaning and happiness in life, and material goods are avidly desired for their extra-utilitarian values, such as hedonic value, envy provocative, and status-seeking (Belk 1998). Social democracy and market competitiveness depend on consumerism i.e. human behavior in the market depends on people's interests in certain cultural values. Consumerism attracts attention of many researchers and scientists around the world. Consumerism culture in the web is not properly studied in the modern studies. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on different aspects of consumerism reflections expressed by the consumers in their blogs. It is possible to conduct this type of research; it is possible to use techniques of Netnography. In terms of this discipline consumers and the culture of consumption are studied. Consumption-oriented blogs describe bloggers’ reflect daily life of the consumers. Their consumption experience is described in their blogs. We have come across many blogs, which are devoted to bloggers' trips to shopping malls, dining experience at restaurants, clothing purchases, and some other types of entertainment. Bloggers are also interested in the movies, TV programs and fashion shows. Very often they prefer watching and listening to reading. It is possible to classify blogs of consumers: some of them are devoted to food purchase; some others are devoted to clothes or other subjects purchasing. Food Consumption in Blogs Food images are presented in these blogs. People are often focused on availability and affordability of food. In a blog created by “Michelle,” a female Chinese correspondent in Shanghai describes restaurants in Shanghai, especially the Western ones. Very often bloggers post self-cooked dishes. A very popular strategy is to illustrate every step of cooking, how the food was prepared, with pictures of each step. We can see this type of blog post on the Figure 2 in Appendix 1 of this research. This is from a blog of a Chinese woman married to an American man. The main advantage of this blog is that a woman provides even details about a historical origin of the dishes she cooks. This type of blogs is devoted to cooking, but at the same time it can reflect not only cooking habits and skills of modern people, but also their historical background. It means that people can reflect not only their physical desires, but also describe their inner triggers, feelings and emotions, which are connected with their deep-rooted ideas. Consumption of Fashion in Blogosphere We are haunted by fashion. We are fond of fashion goods. We cannot miss any other new thing occurring in the market, such as clothing, shoes, and cosmetics. In the blog of a Chinese woman with a nickname “Versus,” a Chinese woman, reflected her personal attitude to fashion mall in Figure 3 (Appendix I). In some other blogs devoted to fashion, it is possible to select some other common topics. Figure 4 is a perfect illustration of this type of blogs. This woman has a nickname “QiuQiu” is fond of different shoes. She accompanies her reflections about her favorite shoes by personal commentaries. She likes matching different types of clothes with different types of shoes. A third type of fashion blog is characterized by the images of dream products. As a rule, bloggers fill these blogs with images of desired products. Figure 5 was found in the blog “Ericyyoung’s” and this blog is devoted to the latest fashions tendencies of Spring 2006. Bloggers are fond of sharing their impressions about different events, for example on Figure 6 “Camille’s” trip to Thierry Mugler’s recently opened perfume boutique in Paris is described and illustrated with the different photos (Xin Zhao, Belk 2007). Travel Reflections in Blogs Blogger place upload photos from the places they have already been in their blogs. Therefore, we can talk about epistemological function of blogs devoted to fashion and different trends. There is no doubt that in the majority of cases, blogs have their target audience. For example, those blogs, which are devoted to cooking, goods or products is focused on housewives. Travelers can share their ideas and reflect their impressions about travelling to many countries by means of blogs. In accordance with Belk, different types of blogs are created for people to feel their power over the objects they possess, prove their self-extension not only in the real world, but also in the virtual world: "Self-extension occurs through control and mastery of an object, through creation of an object, through knowledge of an object, and through contamination via proximity and habituation to an object. The ex-tended self operates not only on an individual level, but also on a collective level involving family, group, subcultural, and national identities"(Belk, 1988). Therefore, people create some templates of behavior and they can show their self-identities, reflect their personal ideas concerning one type of products purchase or another one. Belk claims: "Of course, there is a more utilitarian explanation of the feelings of resentment at the loss of possessions. In this more utilitarian view, we merely regret the loss of valued possessions because of the benefits they pro-vide rather than from any feelings of self derived from or mingled with these objects" (Belk, 1988). Moreover, it is possible to correlate the ideas of Goffman (1990) who claims about individual representation in the world. Thus, in the article written by Xin Zhao and Belk (2007) it is claimed: "Bloggers also reveal multiple identities when it comes to different items on their must-have lists" (Xin Zhao, Belk 2007). We can judge about the main idea of any blog in accordance with many claims and central ideas presented in the blog: "After buying the pot, we stopped by the liquor store. Wow, regular price $39.99 and now it sells at only $19.99, we can save $15! For a person like me, how can I skip this? I grabbed two bottles of this type. On our way home, I thought of this and found I saved more than $70 this time!” (Xin Zhao, Belk 2007). Therefore, we can see that in this case a person is not interested in the very product, but she plays a game, when she wants to save her money and save as much as possible. We can refer to the citation provided in Belk's article: " Valued material possessions . . . act as signs of the self that are essential in their own right for its continued cultivation, and hence the world of meaning that we create for oursleves, and that creates our selves, ex-tends literally into the objective surroundings " (Belk, 1988). Conclusion Therefore, people create a favorable atmosphere among them and with the help of blogs they can created a virtual world, where they can have their dreamy objects at least on photos and find their like-minded persons. With the help of their posts in blogs, people are able to express their personal attitude to some objects. Moreover, very often they are interested in their own personalities or self-evidences. Moreover, every blogger writes his message and he is expecting for reaction of other people. For example, if they are passionate about shopping, they want that people see them as consumption-oriented. People create blogs for different purposes. In any case they reflect their inner essence and a strong desire to exist not only in the real, but also in the virtual world, their lives would be more picturesque. Appendix I References Belk, Russell W., 'Possessions and the Extended Self' [1988], Journal of Consumer Research, Vol 15, 2, pp. 139-168. Goffman, Erving, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life [1990]. Penguin: London. The Extended Self. Retrieved March 01, 2013 from: http://layliconway.wordpress.com/2010/10/ Xin Zhao, Russell W. Belk, Live From Shopping Malls: Blogs and Chinese Consumer Desire [2007]. Retrieved March 01, 2013 from: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/v34/500189_100942_v0.pdf Read More