About Some Aspects of the Formation of Identity in a Consumer Society

The article substantiates the proposition that relativism and the lack of sustainable ideological landmarks, the cultivation of unlimited choices characteristic of Western European culture, organized around mass consumption, lead to the inability to create sustainable identification models. One of the main problems of modern consumer society is the loss of sustainable, holistic identity.
Radical transformations associated with changes in the nature of labor, an increase in free time, a blurring of the class structure, the spread of information technologies are reflected in the transformation of the structure and nature of consumption. The principle of consumption becomes the dominant feature of modern culture and characterizes the individual lifestyle of a person. Self-identification of an individual is closely associated with the development of lifestyle and consumerism. The historical transition to a consumer society led to a shift in the source of identity formation from the labor sphere to the sphere of consumption and leisure. Consumer roles began to act as carriers of the “way of life” rather than class affiliation. As a result, consumption has become one of the main sources of identity. In consumer culture identity is deprived of a fixed center and appears as an infinitely transformed, mobile. The ideology of consumption determines the lifestyle, preferences and character of the individual.