On ‘consumption’
This blog explores consumption. It’s part of a series of blogs that I’m writing for readers who are interested in reflecting on their own relationships with things, about decluttering or organising as a whole. It can be taken as a brief starting point to thinking about our societies’ general habits, and I’ve included literature references for people who want to explore some of these ideas further. My interest in anthropology and how we connect with the things around us comes up again and again in my work as a professional organiser. I’m curious about what others also think about them, so I’ve done some reading and am sharing a few thoughts here.
Taking an interdisciplinary approach to this topic on consumption and material culture, I’ve combined authors’ discourses on consumer behaviours with my own personal experiences, and observations that I’ve encountered as a professional declutterer and organiser. Regarding the extensive body of literature on consumption theory within anthropology, I want to add a disclaimer here at the start: that that goes far beyond our remit. I’ve tried to keep the vast topic relevant to more everyday contexts of general household maintenance (see F Girke in Graeber 2011: 508) and to remain situated firmly within the remit of decluttering and organising. In our worlds of professional organising, however, ‘consumption’ is undeniably significant. I think it’s impossible not to think about the complex ways that our societies consume (not always correlating with income), why we might or might not do it to excess, what it might say about us, how we are attached to things, what motivates us to buy, use and eat and what are the consequences for our planet, our purse and our own states of mind.
Are there subtle differences in the definitions between consumer behaviour; consumption; to consume, or even to be consumed?
14th century terms of consumption refer to negative connotations — of devouring, waste and destruction. When the anthropologist David Graeber brought in the Latin etymology of the word ‘to consume’ as consumere he defined it as “to seize or to take over” (2002: 4), which recalls ‘consumption’ and tuberculosis at the turn of the 20th century (see La Traviata). Is consuming a passive or an active term? To be consumed by grief is as if it’s beyond our control. But being ‘a consumer’ implies that we are responsible for our own actions. By the 18th century, consumption alludes to a sense of desire and fulfilment, perhaps akin to the dopamine hit that we get when we buy.
Where does this feeling of desire and fulfilment come from?
Drawing from one of my own anecdotes: I saw a bag online… I had to have it. I didn’t have to have it, but I also had to have it. My life would be better if I could just have that bag, I would be ‘better defined’. The bag illustrates the self-referential mirror of consumer society. The sense of achievement from purchasing a solution is gratifying — the replacement lightbulb or the missing ingredient of a recipe. When does this cross over to the ‘unnecessary-but-alluring’? In my case, we can see how fashion (especially fast fashion) is competitive. Apparently, it has shifted our desires from what used to be motivated by social objectives to a desire for relationships with things — in order to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ (Doukas’ comments in Graeber, 2011: 503). Does this trigger more consumption?
The distinguished anthropologist, Mary Douglas researched and published work on consumer behaviour in the 1970s:
Douglas pursued the project of tracing the ‘hidden social influences on thought’ (in Heap and Ross, 1992:1). From my understanding, she argued that goods help to make sense of our universe, because these material items define us. By investigating ‘Why do people want goods?’ (first published in 1979) Douglas demonstrated the social relationships that are defined by consumer products specifically within their own contexts. I’m reminded of a conversation with my 7-year-old, when he realised that he didn’t have access to the online games that his friends had. He explained that he felt embarrassed. I think this sense of not being able to join the club if you haven’t purchased the right ‘consumer’ tools defines us and stays with us into adulthood despite all the careful navigations of the world. I found Douglas’ example of home helpful to illustrate how we define or situate people according to their consumption, which in turn influences us in our own consumer choices: where your home is located says a lot about defining you in relation to your environment of ‘things’: zooming in to the region of the world… to the country, if you’re in an urban/ rural setting, down to the street you’re on and who your neighbours are.
The 20th century mass production of consumer goods can be attributable to manufacturers and advertisers (see Berger 1972). Consumer behaviours are swayed by marketing industries who wrap up pretty things in pretty packages with eye-catching soundbites. Sometimes to the extent that we don’t actually feel we’re doing it at all. Politicians advocate that busy consumer markets stimulate overall growth — indeed, “demand theory is at the centre of economic theory” (Mary Douglas 1972). We enjoy thriving high streets and shopping centres, restaurants and bars that are full, tables of people eating and drinking. But — and you can see where this blog is going (!) — what happens when we feel that the consumption scales of the balance tip too far? When overwhelmed clients’ shelves are full to the ceilings? Or delivery packages from online shopping remain unopened in piles, waiting to be returned? Or for more extreme cases, images of the parents in the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away transform themselves into the gluttons gorging themselves on food?
Christmas is classic consumption.
In Douglas’ study on the rituals of passing time — birthdays, anniversaries, religious dates and so forth — she asks us to “think what would happen to our sense of time if we did without time-notching goods.” (in Heap and Ross 1992: 267) A Christmas without gifts or special dishes, drinks, wrapping paper, cards, envelopes and boxes... it certainly identifies consumption as integral to these life cycles. Although each family is different, an online glance at ‘Mumsnet’ suggests that children receive upwards of five gifts at Christmas, which increases rapidly according to the amount of extended family. Last Christmas we decided on one present each because we went abroad. Personally, I felt a huge sense of relief on Christmas morning when we opened our single items, but I did wonder with guilt if it was fair to deny Christmas presents to young kids. It felt a bit bah humbug… though the feeling quickly disappeared as we went out and enjoyed time together. We were fortunate to be away and have other distractions. I’m conscious and cautious at this particular stage of judgements. Added to opinions about spoiling children now comes moralising of over-consuming behaviours — akin to the plastic bag versus tote-bag carrying individual. It’s not helpful to dismiss or belittle consumers’ habits and it’s worth acknowledging the often-valid reasons behind buying. Decisions are often motivated at the time of buying by something in particular which is often kindness — a Christmas gift for a loved one being an excellent example.
What next? What are our options?…
A friend told me years ago that it was going to be okay because more people buy recycled packaging. In a risky return to alarmist 14th century definitions of consumption, I worry about the waste in single use plastics. The manufacturing, fossil fuels for machinery or transportation of goods? As a professional declutterer and organiser I’m obviously going to feel uneasy about over-consumption and would generally like to see us consume less. Yet when George Monbiot advocated that we consume less (Moral Maze, Radio 4, 5/12/12), his views were harshly criticised by the panel. One member joking that they hoped Father Christmas didn’t come across Monbiot. I feel that the debate continues to be polarised. Depending on whom you talk with, overconsumption causes guilt in my clients’ homes, whilst many are unaware. There’s not one solution and it’s normal to enjoy and treasure our belongings. Perhaps we could responsibly shift and slow down the consumer market by being more actively conscious of what enters our homes with an awareness of how much we consume.
Further reading:
Belk (1975), Berger (1972), Miller (2012), Appadurai (1999), Corrigan (1997)