Summary
Using material from DD102, making lives and connecting lives, this essay discusses the different choices and constraints that influence people’s decision-making and how they affect their way of living. Human beings have certain expectations in life, leading to constant decision-making to achieve their desired goal. The expectations may be big or small but have a significant impact on one’s life. Personal choices shape a person’s life, and many wish to achieve their goals quickly and better their lives. However, decision-making involves choices and constraints which determine the final option. Choices are the various possibilities that can lead to the desired goal. Constraints are limiting factors that hinder one’s life expectations and accessibility to opportunities and include ethnic norms, racial inequality, socioeconomic status, gender, and physical or mental incapacitation. The choices and constraints can be self-imposed or societal restrictions on certain things. Thus, individuals have the autonomy to make decisions but may be constrained, leading to a compromise or forced options.
Making Lives
Making lives shows how people are forced to make choices that remake and make their lives regardless of their unwillingness or inability to choose otherwise. Due to many constraints, few people can make decisions freely and create preferred long-term lifestyles. Factors influencing people’s choices in their lives include social issues, economic status, and societal rules, which may hinder one’s decision-making. Financial resources constrain most people since most of the world’s activities today operate with money. Obtaining necessities or luxury commodities requires money, a scarce resource with many demands. For instance, choosing what to eat, and wear, school to attend, medical care and traveling options depend on available funds. However, the scarcity of funds is intensified by a major constraint from the commodities market. As a consumer, producer companies take advantage of the able consumer to provide a diverse array of products creating more choices for consumers and persuading them to buy more.
Consequently, consumers who cannot afford the variety are left out or forced to compromise their decisions to fit in, leading to financial strain. At the same time, a change in financial status leads to making choices to fit in the changing circumstances and remaking one’s life. The case of the city road shows the extent of economic disparities and their impact on the unequal making and remaking of individuals’ lives (The Open University, 2021a). Watkins narrates how changes in financial status led to changes in status, power, and constraints on many life choices. Further, many outlets advertise their goods using various approaches such as giving discounts, vouchers and reducing prices during Christmas. Bauman argues that consumers are fooled by the advertiser’s motives leading to more purchases and addiction to the same store (Havard, 2014, p. 127). For instance, a customer who receives a discount or voucher will feel constrained to save money leading to buying from the same store regardless of value. Likewise, when the product’s price increases, the consumer will still purchase since they are used to buying the same thing at the same place.
Another concept that influences consumer choice is having the option of obtaining everything in the same place. Most stores, mainly supermarkets, have an ‘everything under one roof’ approach where consumers can buy goods ranging from foodstuffs, clothing, jewelry, household items, and farm tools. As a result, a consumer’s choice is constrained by the diversity to choose from and the ability to get everything from one place (The Open University, 2021a). Most individuals nowadays work on tight schedules and budgets; hence, spending less time shopping and saving transportation money leads to choosing to buy products at the same place, whether they are quality or not. At the same time, the convenience of shopping in supermarkets limits people from buying in the street and small shops, which affects the business owner’s income and lifestyle. Therefore, apart from individual enhancement, people need to consider the chain of people affected by the choices which make or remake their lives.
Today, many people express their lifestyles by consuming consumer goods and services. People from various social and economic backgrounds have different prestige views and express them through consumer goods such as food and dressing. Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption state that people accumulate wealth and luxuries to show off their social status and be acknowledged by their peers (Havard, 2014, p. 132). Since modern society believes in being outstanding socially and economically, everyone is rushing to acquire wealth and status, which involves tough decision-making. Apart from prestige, purchasing goods has become a way of showing social identities such as sexuality, family values, and individuality. Therefore, the demand pushes every consumer to stand out from the crowd, leading to more luxurious purchases and moving with the trends.
Many producers and retailers have capitalized on luxury living by producing attractive goods and healthy foods that entice the consumers’ society. Stores promote their products through eye-catching advertisements, which entice more people to purchase the product. According to Baumann, individuals who can fulfill their consumer demands are known as the seduced since they keep buying despite the rising prices and value of the product Bauman 1998 in (Allen, 2014, p. 124). On the other hand, those unable to fulfill their lives through buying are repressed since they have circumstantial constraints that limit achieving their lifestyle expectations. The repressed feel left out in society since consumers focus more on the seduced, and their way of life is compromised as they lose opportunities to better their lives (The Open University, 2021a). Alternatively, the poor are forced into making a difficult choice of facing social humiliation or exhausting all resources and belonging to the consumer. As a result, individuals may choose to spend the little money available on fulfilling their lives’ desires rather than using the resources to purchase basic needs.
Connecting Lives
Similarly, people have constraints and choices in making and remaking lives through social connections. Connecting lives shows the interaction between individuals and their environment, influencing their choices. Social factors determine an individual or society’s identity. People acquire identities through birth, imitating role models or peers during growth. Further, a person’s residence or physical origin may define their identity, such as nationality. Therefore, social and environmental influences identify people and their culture, determining their choice and constraints. If a parent or role model defines one as worthless, they believe they are insignificant, while those praised grow with confidence, impacting their life choices.
Consequently, define others according to their characteristics, dress, race, wealth, and physical environment. For instance, pedestrians refer to homeless people as drug addicts because they look rough and worn out due to their homelessness (The Open University, 2021b). Various circumstances may lead to living on the street, such as losing one’s home, employment, or psychological factors, which can be redeemed. However, since the person is already viewed as homeless and a drug addict, chances of remaking their lives are minimal despite having a choice to get help and restore their lives. Alternatively, modern society believes in being outstanding socially and economically, which involves possessing wealth and status. Everyone wants to be different and stand apart to express their individuality which influences their choices and consumption constraints. Bauman argues that instead of working as a community or group, nowadays, people prefer being identified as an individual with a particular social class and taste Bauman 1998 (Allen, 2014, p. 129). Thus, people use an object to express their lifestyles which becomes an extension of their self-identity. For instance, individuals’ personal properties, such as homes, jewelry, or cars, are part of their identity because it portrays their wealth and socioeconomic status. Thus, material possession defines an individual’s position, choices, and constraints depending on their social class and financial capability. Likewise, people of lower status socially and economically express their identity through a lack of material wealth the rich possessions.
Another factor that limits one’s choice is social status. The class division determines where people live, access education, and shop for essential and luxurious items. Social classes can result from racial discrimination of economic status where clear boundaries are made, limiting people’s choices. Within each community, people define their culture through dressing, eating joints, shopping areas, and people to interact with. Social classes cause segregation in living areas, shopping stores, health facilities, and educational centers; hence people from a higher social class seldom interact with those from a lower rank (The Open University, 2021b). For instance, consumer goods may be available, but various social constraints limit individuals from accessing the services and products. One’s social class can limit accessibility to membership in the preferred society since they do not have the same intellectual, social and economic capacity. Seclusion and alienation from society challenge individuals who feel inadequate and insignificant in society.
Social orders determine individuals’ choices and constraints through interaction and having different cultures. Every society or ethnic group has a different way of life, rules, and adaptation to changes locally and globally. Various societies define gender roles differently; some are sexist, while others favor both genders. Most cultures throughout the world view women as housekeepers while men are the family’s breadwinners. Thus, the man can get employment, but women stay at home, constraining their ability to earn a living and independence. Communities that allow their women to work and own businesses give the female gender an opportunity to make choices that may not constrain their decision-making and interaction ins society. Thus, depending on the culture, gender roles will determine the individuals’ choices and constraints, which influence the making and remaking of lives.
Self-Reflection
In my previous reflection, I commented on my improvements so far, such as paraphrasing, proper referencing, and grammar. I can write fluently and express my ideas more understandably than in my previous work through practice. I have learned much about constructing arguments and drawing evidence from the learning materials which support the argument. The two skills will be beneficial during other studies and fieldwork, where I will be able to write quality work and draw conclusive remarks from the evidence given.
Finally, I have realized that this module has given me a lot to think about, enhancing my critical thinking ability and knowledge about consuming society. Learning about choices and constraints that shape people’s lives and society has been eye-opening and challenged how I make my decisions. I will be more observant to learn about trends in choices and constraints since life is a continuous process that demands changes in consumer society.
Reference List
Allen, J. & Blakeley, G., 2014. In Understanding social lives: Part 1. Milton Keynes: Open University Press, pp. 100–169.
Havard, C (2014) ‘Connecting people and places’, in John Clarke and Kath Woodward (eds) understanding Social Lives Part 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
The Open University (2021a) ‘Reflecting on “Making lives”’ [Audio] DD102 Introducing the Social Sciences. Web.
The Open University (2021b) ‘Reflecting on Connecting Lives’ [Video] DD102 Introducing the Social Sciences. Web.