Me–A Consumer? Consumption, Identities and Lifestyles in Today's Finland

Abstract

ABSI'R ACTRecent sociological theories of consuniption and lifestyles usually argue that consumption plays a n essential role in the creation and maintenance of personal identities. For the consumers, the identity sustaining process operates through playing with tlie lifestyles that are fraginented. flcsiblc and fluid. The consuniers of tlie 'digital crii' tire argued to be unpredictable, indi\fidualistic, cspressive and also highly competent in their spending patterns. This kind of approiich is questionable. It is doubtful that people niakc ii conscious decision to use consumption as a means of playing with identities. Economic restraints. social regulation. conventions. routines. socialization in peer groups arc (still) likely to restrict the freedom of the coiisunicr. In this study, the importance of consumption for identity-formation iviis examined empirically by ;inalysing a data sct derived from a lifestyle survcy, 'Finland 1999'. The findings suggest that most 1:innish consiimers may not consciously consider consumption to be ii niajor part of thcir identities. Athough some materialist and hedonist lifestylcs were found. many consumption styles were nlso chnrnctcrizcd by niodest and rational spending patterns. Saving money was important for most consunicrs. and many also undcrestimatcd their consumption. Socio-economic and dcniographic factors. particularly gender. age, class position and income had also a strong cffect on consumption and lifestyles. Hence, on the basis of this data. most 1:innish consiiiners sccni rather 'ordinary' and not quite as individualistic iis postmodern theories argue.

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