Consumption & Self Identity: A Reflection Essay (2022)
Time
Fall 2022
Context
School project
Final reflection essay of a course during my exchange at the National University of Singapore in 2022.
The essay addresses material consumption and self-reinforcement; how it has always been present—and inevitably so—even in the far East, prior to the general awareness of concepts such as capitalism or consumerism. It closes with the suggestion that, as we vehemently condemn modern media and marketing of "over-associating" our identities with material possessions, we should consider whether the full removal of such linkage is even possible.
Written with critical aim, the essay is an exploration piece part of my long-term pursuit of challenging both pro- and anti-consumer narratives and finding a balanced ideological middle ground, both as a marketing professional and as an ordinary consumer.
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This reflection paper discusses the symbolic meaning of consumption behaviour and self-identity, using the study by Clunas (2012) as a foundation. Selected ideas in Clunas’ work will be addressed and further explored, drawing arguments from literature and personal experience.
In his study, Clunas (2012) delves into the vibrant imaginaries of the ‘urban life’ and consumption behaviour of middle- to higher-class society during Ming China. Rather than taking a macroscopic perspective, Clunas turns to a more case-based and qualitative approach to find fragmented manifestations of Ming’s consumer culture. Among this, the part where consumption bahaviour is explored through examining Wei Shui Xuan Ri Ji (味水軒日記), the personal diary of the then official and elite Li Rihua, struck me as an extremely captivating study. From a historical perspective, Li’s records illustratively and persuasively show us the diversity of objects that were visible in the markets back then, while also revealing the highly ‘mundane’ wants and needs of numerous material goods, and an individual’s pursuit of a certain lifestyle, through a compellingly personal and descriptive narrative.
Besides working for the Ming government, Li was also an artist, collector, and ‘connoisseur’ (Brook, 2021, p.439) who exerts distinguishing taste, and was constantly in search for ‘objects’ in the market which speaks to his definition of uniqueness and refinement, from antiques, decorations, to rare pets. Li’s consumption behaviour tells us a lot about his aesthetical standards, financial ability, life priorities and, symbolically, traces of his character—perhaps that is why I enjoy reading Li’s seemingly trivial notes. Moreover, through the academic lenses of consumer behaviour studies, this demonstrates the influential idea pinned by Belk (1988) of acknowledging “possessions” as meaningful extensions to the ‘self’.
Belk’s study examined the relationship between individuals and their belongings, and suggests that as humans, we gradually learn to differentiate what is ours from the outside world; furthermore, to these material possessions we attach numerous symbolic meanings related to self-definition such as happiness, fulfilment, self-expression, or even proof of our legacy—while the first three meanings can be observed throughout Li’s diaries in his search of satisfactory antiques, the latter meaning is also addressed in Clunas (2012) by the function of burial goods in ancient Chinese traditions. Finally, Belk (1988) mentions how the extended self occurs as we emphasise what we have and our knowledge on our objects, through which our identity is (re)defined, just as how Li is known today as a highly cultured collector through his consumption and selection of possessions.
Through Belk’s analysis, we may argue that what people (un)consciously choose to buy contribute to the construction or confirmation of their personal and/or social identity; In a contemporary setting, this should ring a bell to many of us who, although surrounded by a wide range of brands, are more or less selective about buying from specific ones that best represent how we want to be perceived by others. This can be observed in the decisions of many people—myself included—to the extent that we occasionally fall into the trap of consuming merely for the symbol instead of actual purpose, in an attempt to impress or prove ourselves.
As mentioned by Clunas (2012), there always exists a dichotomy in Eastern and Western societies alike as to how people perceive consumption, that it can be equally positive as it is negative depending on the context and ways of framing—from what I understand, the most prominent social meaning of consumption is often negative, defined by the capitalism discourse in which consumption is the foundation of a capitalist economy, and that we are ‘tempted’ by brands, media, or our governments (which are possibly the three most common culprits of everything bad in public discourses) to constantly consume things that are essentially meaningless. Although the exploitation of power amongst this idea is undeniabble evidence of our identity.
November 2022
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