I am Ginny and I am from Sint Maarten and I live in Den Haag. The main things I consume in a day are food, beverages, water, electricity, public transportation services and entertainment (music & TV shows online). The main things I consume in a typical week do not differ from those I consume in a day. However if I happen to have an event to attend, I will usually buy a new article of clothing or an entire new outfit if I have money to burn!
In order to be modern I need clothes, some technology (laptop, phone, iPod), hygiene products, shelter. In order to be happy I need to be fed, sheltered, have my thirst quenched, feel secure, interact with others, listen to music and most importantly I need my family and friends. Things I want to consume in my life are things I consider luxuries such as a flat screen TV for my room, a million kitchen appliances for my baking and cooking obsession and massages, good relaxing massages. The items in I most desire in my life would be to have a stable and influential career, own family, personal wealth and of course, the aforementioned luxuries. Minus the luxuries, the desires are what indicate success in my culture/country.
My preferred method of consumption follows the “bang for the buck” idea. I’ll compare price -for-quantity of products in different stores to make sure that I’m getting the most out of the money I’d be spending. It could be student life or just the fact that my father would make us walk around town for hours to compare things and then buy one thing at the end of the day. Generally, I’ll buy things in bulk. However, I will sometimes splurge for quality depending on what the product is (ex. buying a shirt at WE Fashion that’ll last for a while as opposed to poorer C&A quality that will wear out quickly). The social signals that influence my consumption are:
- Common sense rationality
- Competence
- Valuing Health
- Social Responsibility
- Modernity
Our class conducted an experiment to see how we consume in various methods of exchange. We were given an imaginary allowance of 50 Euros each. There were three condition where we could either barter, auction or sell our 10 used items. There was no money involved in the first condition of the experiment.
It was clear that there were differences in the methods of consumption. People either obtained items, made a lot of money or both. I was one of the people that didn’t make a lot of money.
Video recording would be a good method to document all three exchanges. Post-exchange interviews would be interesting for Auction and Barter situations. Namely to figure out the strategies of the individuals as well as how they felt about being in a high pressure situation as with the auction or feelings towards trading without monetary value attached to products as with bartering.
In the first condition, everyone was apprehensive however as people got more comfortable some people were more active consumers with a strategy and goal in mind while others were more nonchalant about the entire experiment, such as myself, despite the extra credit incentive.
Personal Reflection
Barter
I am not a rapid consumer or trader. I prefer taking time to compare products and find out more information about the product, especially used ones as in the barter condition of the experiment. Even though I could potentially have made profit with items gained in the barter condition, I wanted to first know the value of the product.
Auction/Store
I am generally tight with money if it is a limited amount. I am more likely to not purchase anything and save money instead. Once I have a good amount saved, I will spend what I think is a reasonable amount. This was evident by my behavior during the auction condition. I did not buy many auctioned items however I hoped to auction off/sell all of mine. After I sold my items in the store condition, I spent money in the other stores on what I thought was worth it (book, juice, tea).
My consumer behaviour throughout the experiment was consistent with my real life consumer behaviour. I don’t make a lot of money every month, but I save the little I have so that I can purchase something small for myself at the end of the month… or something bigger after a few months.
The Culture of Consumption 