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Youth, identity and consumption A research model
Jeremi Van Gorp

Research Assistant of the Research Foundation - Flanders Department of Sociology University of Antwerp BELGIUM

Draft paper Prepared for the 7th Conference of the European Sociological Association “Rethinking Inequalities” Torun - Poland September 9 – September 12, 2005

Abstract One of the most important applications ofthe communication function of consumption can be found in processes of distinction and identification. Consumption is used to stress these differences and similarities that have become crucial in the development of identity in contemporary society. Contrary to traditional societies, identity in contemporary societies is almost permanently under construction and nearly unlimited possibilities ofvertical and horizontal mobility seem to exist. People are now more than ever the constructors of their own "self". This construction of identity is a life-long project but especially in teenage years, it is of major importance. Youth is the phase par excellence to experiment with possible identities, guided by feed-back from their peers, in preparation for an adult life. In this research project,three general aspects are scrutinized. First, there are several aspects of identity that try to grasp how a teenager sees him/herself. Second, aspects of peers are integrated that try to get a hold of the social surroundings of a teenager that might influence his or her identity and consumption patterns. Third, aspects of consumption are put into the model. Finally, other possible mediating factors(parental influence, income, school and media influence) are also integrated in the model. This paper gives an overview of the proposed research model to open the discussion about it.

Comment This work is a draft. It is prepared to be discussed at the 7th ESA Conference in Torun – Poland. Comments on this text and particularly on the presented research model are very welcome. The author can bereached at: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Political and Social Sciences University of Antwerp Universiteitsplein 1 – B-2610 Wilrijk BELGIUM Tel.: + 32 3 820 28 90 Fax.: + 32 3 820 28 82 e-mail: jeremi.vangorp@ua.ac.be

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1 Introduction
The relation between individuals and consumption has become a real sociological subject of research from World War II onwards (Miller, P. and Rose,1997). Reasons for this growing attention are to be found in the fact that the (artificial) economic boom following this war separated the views on consumption from those on production. Production and consumption have always been and will always – at least for a part – be a game of supply and demand. In the “golden sixties” however, supply was assured of. This shed the light almost exclusively onconsumption. Another important reason for the rising attention is the fact that consumption became rooted in discussions on the construction of subjectivity in general and of self in particular (Miller, D. et al, 1998). In classical economic theories on consumption, a mainly rational view on the consumer is found (Aldridge, 2003, Douglas and Isherwood, 1980, Gabriel and Lang, 1995). Essential in thisviewpoint is that the individual makes independent choices. By definition, rational individuals are not driven by fears or emotions. They choose products based on objective qualities that can not be explained by post hoc rationalizations (Miller, P. and Rose, 1997) with one single aim: maximizing the use (Erickson and Johansson, 1985). Primary use value of products is central, individual tastesand preferences are assumed given. They are axioms that can not be changed by persuasion (Stigler and Becker, 1977) and thus have to be approached in a non-evaluative way as empirical data (Slater, 1997). Choices are assumed consistent with each other and only limited by the cost of things (Antonides, 1989). In other words, a rational approach assumes an atomised individual, driven by an aim at...