Sociology 2172A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Consumerism, Yuppie, Planned Obsolescence
4 Dec 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Week before exam there is no class but there will be a video and broad ideas are examinable. We have used more resources in 1950s than in the history of forever. We"ve gotten to a point where our consumption patterns can"t be sustained. Consumption: the way we purchase and use goods and services: the sociology of consumerism is very underdeveloped, sociologists aren"t studying it. Consumerism: preoccupation with the acquisition of goods to satisfy needs through material things: addiction, pattern that is out of control. Cycle of consumerism: advertisement, pressures us to buy things, ex. Valentine"s day, christmas: purchase, indebtedness, alienation, you feel alone because you bought stuff but it didn"t influence your life. To manipulate us into buying with little reflection. Advertisements: appeal to our insecurities, solve our problems, achieve happiness and freedom, ex. They introduced tv into isolated communities and studied them before and after; discovered they were less happy with the tv: ex.
