Taken together, Robert Putnam’s work on the decline of social capital (2000) and Juliet Schor’s insights about the rise of “the new consumerism” (1999) suggest a shift in values in which our responsibilities as citizens have taken a backseat to our desires as consumers. This article complicates this shift in civic and consumer culture by examining generational differences in overconsumption, competitive consumption, and conscious consumption between 1994 and 2004. Using survey proxies for these concepts from the annual DDB Needham Life Style Study, the authors find that Generation X exhibits the highest rates of overconsumption and competitive consumption while also displaying the lowest rates of conscious consumption. Notably, the trends for these three aspects of consumer behavior vary in terms of overtime stability, general tendency, and economic responsiveness. These differing patterns of spending and consumption have far-reaching implications for society as a whole, particularly as the Civic Generation fades, the Boomers move out of the workforce, and Generation X becomes mature and culturally dominant.
BellStephen S.HolbrookMorris B.SolomonMichael R.1991. Combining esthetic and social value to explain preferences for product styles with incorporation of personality and ensemble effects. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality6 (6): 243–47.
2.
BennettW. Lance. 1998. The uncivic culture: Communication, identity and the rise of lifestyle politics. Political Science and Politics31:741–61.
3.
BennettW. Lance. 2008. Changing citizenship in the digital age. In Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth, ed. BennettW. Lance. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
4.
BlakewellCathyMitchellVincent-Wayne. 2003. Generation Y female consumer decision-making styles. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management31 (2): 95–106.
5.
BourdieuPierre. 1984. Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste. Trans. NiceR.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
CarmichaelMatt. 14November2011. The new necessities: What products and services can consumers not live without. Advertising Age. Available from http://adage.com (accessed 15 February 2012).
DaltonRussell J.2009. The good citizen: How a younger generation is reshaping American politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press.
9.
DrenteaPatriciaLavrakasPaul J.2000. Over the limit: The association between health, race, and debt. Social Science & Medicine50:517–29.
10.
EasterlinRichard A.1987. Birth and fortune. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
11.
ElderGlen H.Jr.1974. Children of the Great Depression. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
12.
FoxallGordon. 1984. Evidence for attitudinal-behavioural consistency: Implications for consumer research paradigms. Journal of Economic Psychology5:71–92.
13.
FoxallGordon. 1996. Science and interpretation in consumer research: A radical behaviourist perspective. European Journal of Marketing29 (9): 3–99.
14.
FournierSusanGuiryMichael. 1993. An emerald green Jaguar, a house on Nantucket, and an African safari: Wish lists and consumption dreams in materialist society. Advances in Consumer Research20:352–58.
15.
FriedlandLewShahDhavan V.LeeNam-JinRademacherMark A.AtkinsonLucyHoveThomas. 2007. Capital, consumption, communication, and citizenship: The social positioning of taste and civic culture in the United States. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science611:31–50.
16.
FrithKatherine T.MuellerBarbara. 2003. Advertising and societies: Global issues. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
17.
GiddensAnthony. 1991. Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
18.
GillonSteven M.2004. Boomer nation: The largest and richest generation ever, and how it changed America. New York, NY: Free Press.
19.
GriskeviciusVladasTyburJoshua M.Van den BerghBram. 2010. Going green to be seen: Status, reputation, and conspicuous conservation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology98:392–404.
20.
HamiltonCliveDennissRichard. 2005. Affluenza: When too much is never enough. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
21.
JacobsJerry A.GersonKathleen. 2001. Overworked individuals or overworked families? Explaining trends in work, leisure, and family time. Work and Occupation28:40–63.
22.
JenningsM. KentStokerLauraBowersJake. 2001. Politics across generations: Family transmission reexamined. Journal of Politics71 (3): 782–99.
23.
KleinNaomi. 2000. No logo. New York, NY: Picador.
24.
McCrackenGrant. 1988. Culture and consumption. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
25.
MeyrowitzJoshua. 1985. No sense of place: The impact of electronic media on social behavior. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
26.
MichelettiMichele. 2010. Political virtue and shopping: Individuals, consumerism, and collective action. Rev. ed.New York, NY: Palgrave.
27.
MillerJon D.2011. Active, balanced, and happy: These young Americans are not bowling alone. Generation X Report1 (1): 1–7.
28.
O’ShaughnessyJohn. 1992. Explaining buyer behavior: Central concepts and philosophy of science issues. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
29.
PackardVance. 1959. The status seekers. New York, NY: David McKay.
30.
PaulPamela. 2001. Getting inside Generation Y. American Demographics23:42–49.
31.
PrasadMonicaKimeldorfHowardMeyerRachelRobinsonIan. 2004. Consumers of the world unite: A market-based response to sweatshops. Labor Studies Journal29 (3): 57–80.
32.
PutnamRobert D.1995. Tuning in, tuning out: The strange disappearance of social capital in America. Political Science & Politics28:664–83.
33.
PutnamRobert D.2000. Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
34.
RyderNorman B.1965. The cohort as a concept in the study of social change. American Sociological Review30:843–61.
35.
ScammellMargaret. 2000. The Internet and civic-engagement: The age of the citizen-consumer. Political Communication17 (4): 351–55.
36.
SchlosserEric. 2002. Fast food nation: The dark side of the all-American meal. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
37.
SchorJuliet. 1999. The overspent American: Why we want what we don’t need. New York, NY: Harper Perennial.
38.
SchorJuliet. 2000. The new politics of consumption. In Do Americans shop too much? eds. CohenJoshuaRogersJoel, 3–33. Boston, MA: Beacon.
39.
SchudsonMichael. 2007. Citizens, consumers, and the good society. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science611:236–49.
40.
SextonSteven E.SextonAlison L.2011. Conspicuous conservation: The Prius effect and willingness to pay for environmental bona fides. Available from http://works.bepress.com/sexton/11 (accessed 17 February 2012).
41.
ShahDhavan V.McLeodDouglas M.KimEunkyungLeeSun Y.GotliebMelissa R.HoShirley S.BreivikHilde. 2007. Political consumerism: How communication and consumption orientations drive “lifestyle politics.”The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science611:217–35.
42.
StolleDietlindHoogheMarcMichelettiMichele. 2005. Politics in the supermarket: Political consumerism as a form of political participation. International Political Science Review26:245–69.
43.
VeblenThorstein. 1967. The theory of the leisure class. New York, NY: Penguin.
44.
WillisMargaret M.SchorJuliet B.2012. Does changing a light bulb lead to changing the world? Political action and the conscious consumer. The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, this volume.
45.
ZukinCliffKeeterScottAndolinaMollyJenkinsKristaDelli CarpiniMichael X.2006. A new engagement? Political participation, civic life, and the changing American citizen. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
