Research Proposal on "Consumer Diaries"

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Research Proposal 3 pages (1120 words) Sources: 11

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Consumer Diary

It did not take long to enter into consumer culture - the alarm on my phone is a ringtone I downloaded a while back. Immediately I have to consider that I paid for that sound, when I could just as easily have used one that came with the phone. Ever since alarm clocks were invented, nobody paid for customized sounds. Customization is an interesting component of today's consumerism. It not engages the consumer, and gives them a reason to pay for things, like ringtones, that they would not otherwise pay for. So immediately there's a lesson here - give people an excuse to spend money and they will probably do it. The morning was fairly straightforward - a shower (body wash, shampoo), getting clean (deodorant, toothpaste). I note this routine is fairly standard. We all do the same things with the same stuff. Heather Hendershot's article discussing gender roles comes to mind - everything in my morning routine has been laid out by my gender. The individual products vary - I get recommendations from my friends - but the routine is exactly what we've been trained to do by marketers of these products.

Breakfast is a toasted bagel, then out for coffee. In a way I wish I wasn't so into coffee, but the caffeine has me hooked, and that there's a Starbucks on every corner makes it so easy, every time I want to cut back, to get right back on that horse. The service was kind of terrible and totally disinterested. Marx pointed out that the lack of ownership in work causes this, which makes me wonder why other baristas actually seem to care. I spend the rest of my morning in class. This is also a part of consumer culture - I pay for this schooling and it has been drummed into my

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head that I need this. So I pay the money and I go to class and learn. I skip lunch, I'm too busy, but head for a little walk in the park since the weather is nice. I am driving everywhere I go, of course. I live too far away. This fact further puts me deep into consumer culture, since I not only need a car, but gas, insurance and maintenance. All of these things eat into my budget.

The afternoon is mostly video games, a nap and a snack. After that I split my evening between homework and television. That's more consumer culture, as I'm inundated with ads. But even my choice of shows is heavily influenced by the culture around me. Malcolm Gladwell's article about Levi's shows some similarities to television. The Levis ads were successful ads because they were structure specifically to appeal to certain audiences. Television shows are like that as well, and even entire channels. I like what I like because it was made for my demographic. But the element of passivity strikes me as well. The Levis ads were passive, focusing on limited amounts of information. The ads were likeable, unchallenging, and spoke to a need. Television as a whole is like that - it sucks you in because it is an easy diversion that speaks to a need. I watch Dexter because I like to see criminals get their due. I watch South Park because they say things I can't get away with saying.

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Quoted Instructions for "Consumer Diaries" Assignment:

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Choose 2 days and take note of your participation in consumer culture during that 48 hour period. This should include consideration of your entire daily routine from the time you wake up until you sleep.(wake up, eat where, take car to where, drink coffee and gas the car etc.) Your records should take the form of photographs, clippings and notes( which I will provide refer to what you wrote on the diary; maybe grocery receipt or went to get beer etc. ).

And please refer to the following readings:

-McCraken, Grand. (1988)"Meaning Manufacture and Movement in the World of Goods."

-Rappaport, Erika D. (2000). " A New Era of Shopping" The Promotion of Women's Pleasure in London's West End, 1909-1914

-Shuh, J. H. (1998). "Fifty ways to read a big mac box."

-Miller, Daniel. (1998). A Theory of Shopping. Cambridge, Polity Press:1-3, 15-36.

-Enloe, Cynthia. "The Globetrotting Sneaker."

-Klein, Naomi. No Logo:Taking Aim at the brand bullies.

-Marx Karl. (2000). "Estranged Labour." The Consumer Society Reader

-Leach, W. (1989)."Strategists of Display and the Production of Desire." Consuming Visions: Accumulation and Display of Goods in America, 1880-1920. S. J. Bronner. New York and London, W.W.Norton & Company:99-132.

-Hendershot, H.(1996). "Dolls:odour, disgust, femininity and toy design." The Gendered Object

-Gladwell, Malcom(2000). "listening to Khakis. What America;s Most Popular Pants Tell Us about the Way Guys Think"

-Schudson, Michael. "Historical Roots of Consumer Culture," in Roxanne Hovland et al. eds. Readings in Advertising, Society, and Consumer Culture. Armonk, NY:M.E. Sharpe, 2007.

*** Relate your observations to concepts discussed in readings.

eg's ~ is surprising, unusual, overall point and what am I learning.. went to the store and didn't buy anything.. just look around and this is just like what we discussed in ~ readings.

** Does not have to be like going to store and purchase something.. it could be just what you did during 2 days.. like watch TV or go buy grocery and relate that to stories in followed 11 reading.

How to Reference "Consumer Diaries" Research Proposal in a Bibliography

“Consumer Diaries.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2008, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721. Accessed 6 Jul 2024.

Consumer Diaries (2008). Retrieved from https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721

A1-TermPaper.com. (2008). Consumer Diaries. [online] Available at: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721 [Accessed 6 Jul, 2024].

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[1] ”Consumer Diaries”, A1-TermPaper.com, 2008. [Online]. Available: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721. [Accessed: 6-Jul-2024].

1. Consumer Diaries [Internet]. A1-TermPaper.com. 2008 [cited 6 July 2024]. Available from: https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721

1. Consumer Diaries. A1-TermPaper.com. https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/consumer-diary/8721. Published 2008. Accessed July 6, 2024.

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