I am Anik. I am from Kolkata, India. The main things I consume in a day is water, eggs, milk, bread, rice, vegetables, fruit and electricity. The main things I consume in a week are energy, transportation and internet.
In order to be modern I need technologically enhanced items at my house that includes the latest tv, computer, tablet, phones, fridge and washing machine. In order to be happy I need a lot of money, need to own a lot of assets with a very future value. I also need to be healthy and be around my loved ones and good food. The things I need to consume in my life are water, air, food and clean energy. The things I want to consume in my life is luxury. Luxury cars, houses, hotels, luxury private jets. The items I most desire are Lamborgini Aventador, Bugatti Veron, a fleet of private hyper sonic jets, and a nice house so I can take shelter in it. My preferred methods are consumption are buying stuff online and buying stuff directly from the store.
The social signals that influence my consumption the most are derived from what everyone else is consuming and finding the best from it (quality) also advertising . I am not a big fan of the whole green campaigns but I like it when I see alternative energy or any alternate source which does not adversely effect the eco system.
Experiment
We each had to bring ten items from our house and performed three different experiments which comprised of auctioning and bartering. In end experiment items were sold for fake money.
Methodologies
Bartering was interesting everything was running smooth and in order. There was a variety of items which participants choose from. The negotiation between people who wanted the items took place with the game rock, paper and scissors. There were a few who wanted only money and a few who wanted the items.
Auctioning was more interesting as this time money came in and all the participants began using their own strategy. It was very simple and easy to do the highest bidder wins.
Small stores were set but each participant with fixed prices or negotiate able prices. At this point every thing was crazy it was almost like a mini market where traders were buying and selling their goods. This was definitely the best part of the whole experiment.
Ideas for documenting the exchanges
The best idea to document the exchanges is definitely by capturing it on video. A more detailed form of documenting the exchanges is by assigning each participant an accounting form in which they will be asked to fill in the exchanges so it can be used later.
Explanation of group dynamics and outcomes of process
There was a competitive nature amongst everybody. The outcome of the process was to show how we can get certain items without paying for them.
Personal reflection
The experiment made me realize what can be achieved if people were willing to exchange their goods instead of just keeping it. Same for their cars, houses or any other item. A lot of money can be saved in the process. However there is no assurance of the exchanged goods as they are not directly purchased from stores therefore it is risky. Personally this made me think as to what can happen if the same experiment actually works in reality. After some research I realized it does happen but not to a scale which can make a big difference. The experiment definitely made me more aware of what I consume and what I can do to make a positive change to this planet.
The Culture of Consumption 