You Are What You Buy: Developing Identities by the Products Consumed

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Summary
Danielle Todd’s “You Are What You Buy: Postmodern Consumerism and the Construction of Self” shows how people are defined by the products they consume. The author argues that individuals buy products that have specific symbols of identity, either knowingly or unknowingly. For this reason, consumption serves as a way of creating a sense of oneself.
Consumption facilitates the communication between the consumer and society within the confines of social structure. That is the reason why Jean Baudrillard asserts that everything in the world simulates reality (Todd, 2011). Simulations are completed through the consumption and production of goods. At this juncture, I concur with Baudrillard that the things people purchase are not merely products but also have a language that shows consumers’ identities. For this reason, the goods that individuals use reflect their innermost desires.
The article shows that sometimes, consumers are lost in the process of choosing the products. In that light, the author uses an example of the son...