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Consumption: A Gateway to Self-Identity Written by Michael Black Economic patterns develop differently in different cultures, and even differently in different people. Because of this, one's pattern of consumption can easily help define what kind of person they are. By analyzing my own consumption patterns, I can see that people tend to develop economic patterns for a wide array of reasons including consuming images, symbolic value, and hegemonic forces which all help describe their self-identity as a consumer. The change in patterns of consumption over extended periods of time is often times fairly obvious. For example, I can notice from experience that the market for blue jeans today is quite different than it was ten years ago. Ten years ago, brands such as Levi's, Wranglers, and Lee dominated the market for jeans. Their marketing was aimed towards selling a durable product to a consumer who was looking for a simple quality jean. Today, however, the market has grown and jeans are more of a fashion statement. Although a good number of people (including myself) still wear Levi's in part due to their adoption of a number of new styles, the market has been broken into by companies that try to advertise a more fashionable jean. While celebrities help endorse GAP "easy fit" jeans, designer companies such as Calvin Klien have been able sell jeans because of the desirable name, and companies like Phat Farm are providing an "alternative" look for many consumers; the shift in marketing is obvious. Levi's has even adopted an advertising scheme that focuses more on the image of the person that is wear the jeans than the actual pair of jeans. Even when it comes to jeans, it is easily noticeable that people consume images; and by consuming the images that people do, people help create their own self-image. I can easily admit that the reason I still buy Levi's has a lot to do with their image opposed to just their durability. Although Levi's are widely known as a quality, durable product, if no one else wore them, I probably wouldn't either. In essence, people are consuming images, and by consuming images, people are gradually constructing their own self-images.
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