The Claim of Consumption

Outline the claim that consumption reflects and shapes our lifestyle and identity.
Consuming is part of our lifestyle and identity it gives us a feeling of belonging and part of something by consuming. We now live in a Society which is defined not just by what we make and do but by what people purchase and use. (Pg20,Chapter 1) A consumer society is the society in which we all live, what we buy and why we buy them is what a lot of social scientist would call a “consumer society”.  
The consumer society is made up of people who consume for pleasure; fun, out of habit, to be part of a group. (Hinchliffe, 2009, p.6). A consumer can be defined as someone who fully embraces the product and service that they have purchased. Hetherington (2009 p20) suggests that consuming has become a social activity and that a variety of factors are taken into account when consuming; the option and choices of today’s markets, finances, influences of trends and geographical locations. These factors can help to reveal the lifestyle we lead and express our interests and identities. Over the past three decades, the dominance of consumption over production has transformed society to one which is determined by what we consume, rather than where we work and what our skills are. A consumer society is the society in which we all live, what we buy and why we buy them is what a lot of social scientist would call a “consumer society”. Consumer behaviour has changed from purchasing necessities to more of a relationship between the consumer, the products and services and the lifestyle it represents. Until the latter part of the twentieth century societies in industrialised Europe were referred to as "industrial societies" in which people's identities were defined by the social norms of their class or their professions. Since then, aided initially by the development of department stores and a retail orientated infrastructure, a shift away from a production dominated economy to one motivated by...