"I want it ALL and I want it NOW"

"My term is 'competitive consumption', the idea that spending is in large part driven by a comparative or competitive process in which individuals try to keep up with the norms of the social group with which they identify-a 'reference group'." (pg 207)  This quote came from an author named Juliet Schor, who wrote about the politics of consumption in America.  After all it is the American way to spend everything we have so we can have a lifestyle that is out of our means.  We grow up thinking that the white picnic fence, and nice 4 bedroom home in a well polished suburban area, is what will make us fit in. The lifestyle that we are conditioned to strive for maybe more difficult than we thought to achieve, so America's business big wigs came up with game.  This game is called competitive consumption, and as you read in the opening quote it is a systematic way to get you to spend more money.

This game is being played amongst a vast amount of people who suffer from credit card and loan debt. "Total U.S. consumer debt: $2.43 trillion, as of May 2011 (Source: Federal Reserve's G.19 report on consumer credit, released July 2011)."  With that amount of money we could solve the economic problems in the United States, and give money to third world countries. Our culture has been so transfixed on buying whatever we can that it is even something portrayed in on our televisions.  A lot of hit T.V shows and movies have used competitive consumption for entertainment.  Making this game for consumer domination fun, it will make the public more willing to play. A couple of examples I thought of was "Desperate Housewives", "Friends", and "Sex in the City".  My favorite example is from "Sex and the City", in a majority of episodes these four women strive to be fashionable in a city that runs on high fashion.  Carrie is always buying new shoes that will add to her endless collection, and Samantha always wants a better piece of property or access to every club.  This competitive nature leads to others wanting the same thing.  These shows are displaying to people that spending is a highly function in our culture, though debt is such a huge issue. 


References:

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php#ixzz1ZJ87vtLM

Dines, G. (2011). Gender, Race, and Class in Media (3rd ed., p. 207). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE publication.