Consumer culture, the mobilisation of the narcissistic self and adolescent deviant leisure

Abstract

The purpose of this analysis is to investigate the consumer packaging of adolescent deviance through commodified leisure. It argues that under conditions of neoliberalism, deviant leisure is commodified by industry, emptying deviance of its political potential, selling it back to adolescents in the form of narcissistic self-identities. These self-identities appear to challenge authority, albeit produced within youth culture and marketing, purchased and consumed in the belief that it is resistance. Forms of adolescent deviance and narcissism are normalised as challenging, exciting and risky while providing associations with power, wealth, celebrity and physical beauty. In the final analysis, we explore some possibilities for the resistance of market-based constructions of self-identity for adolescents in western consumer cultures.

O propósito desta análise é investigar a forma do consumo do desvio adolescente através do lazer mercantilizado. O artigo argumenta que sob condições de neoliberalismo, o lazer desviante é mercantilizado pela indústria, esvaziando o desvio de seu potencial político, revendendo-o aos adolescentes sob a forma de auto-identidades narcisísticas. Essas auto-identidades parecem desafiar a autoridade, embora produzidas dentro da cultura e do marketing jovens, compradas e consumidas na crença de que são resistências. Formas de desvio e narcisismo adolescente são normalizadas como desafiadoras, excitantes e arriscadas, proporcionando associações com poder, riqueza, celebridade e beleza física. Na análise final, exploramos algumas possibilidades para a resistência de construtos de auto-identidade para adolescentes baseados no mercado em culturas de consumo ocidentais.

这篇文章的目的是通过休闲商品来探究青少年非正常的消费行为。这篇文章指出, 在自恋的情况下, 排除政治意图, 仅仅从自恋的个人性格方面来研究, 非正常休闲被产业商品化。即便是在年轻人文化和市场, 这些自我特性似乎要挑战权威, 用反抗的信念来购买和消费。青少年异常消费和自恋被认为是对于正常标准的挑战, 当和权力、财富、声望、健美联系在一起的时候, 它变得既兴奋又冒险。在最后的调查中, 我们探索了在西方文化中青少年对基于市场的自身特性构建的抵抗的可能性。

Keywords:

• consumer culture
• adolescent deviant leisure
• narcissism
• self-identity
• commodification
• resistance

Notes

1. We define adolescence as the period between the onset of puberty and adulthood. Typically this period ranges from age 13 to 21. However, in late modern societies, the period of time that young people spend in adolescence is often extended to include the beginning of puberty up until young people leave formal education and the care of their parents, which for some may extend to the age of 27 (Marshall, 1998).

2. We take our definition of ‘agency’ from Marshall (1998) who notes that it refers to the social and psychological make-up of an actor and implies that groups and individuals in society have a capacity for willed voluntary action.