Current Situation of Fan Symbolic Consumption by Undergraduate

XIA Yun-wenLI Gang

(1.Binzhou Medical College,Yantai Shandong 264000;2.Shandong Business Institute,Yantai Shandong 264670)

0 Introduction

Today,the world have entered a global context with economic and cultural isomorphism.Consumerism,formed in the western capitalist,has been constantly stimulating people’s strong desire to consume as a concept of value and way of life,through the mass media and so on.China has been experiencing a a tremendous change in all fields,especially in the field of undergraduate consumption.As a significant and special Youth group,it has played a key role in stimulating consumption,especially for those undergraduate fans.As an important phenomenon of Youth Subculture,their idolatry has greatly influenced their ideology and behavior toward consumption.It is an intelligent group with the most active and agile thinking mode.Moreover,the values and way of life of western consumerism has been demonstrated widely and strongly in college students.Symbol consumption has become an important consumer characteristics and life philosophy.The consumer is not intended to meet the actual needs,but to pursue for the inner satisfied desire.In other words,people’s consumption is not the value of products and service,but their symbolic fuction.

1 Symbolic Consumption

Firstly put forward by Jean Baudrillard,the term is used to describe the phenomenon whereby people consume to reflect their sense of self identity.Symbolic consumption occurs when a consumer purchases or uses a product as a result of emotional driving factors as opposed to functional driving factors.

In his early books,such as The System of Objects,For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign,and The Consumer Society,Baudrillard’s main focus is upon consumerism,and how different objects are consumed in different ways.For Baudrillard,it was consumption,rather than production,which was the main drive in capitalist society.Baudrillard came to this conclusion by criticising Marx’s concept of“use-value”.Baudrillard thought that both Marx’s and Adam Smith’s economic thought accepted the idea of genuine needs relating to genuine uses too easily and too simply-despite the fact that Marx did not use the term “genuine” in relation to needs or use-values.Baudrillard argued,drawing from Georges Bataille,that needs are constructed,rather than innate.He stressed that all purchases,because they always signify something socially,have their fetishistic side.Objects always,drawing from Roland Barthes, “say something” about their users.And this was,for him,why consumption was and remains more important than production:because the “ideological genesis of needs”(Baudrillard,2000)precedes the production of goods to meet those needs.He wrote that there are four ways of an object obtaining value.The four value-making processes are as follows(Ibid):

The first is the functional value of an object;its instrumental purpose.A pen,for instance,writes;and a refrigerator cools.

The second is the exchange value of an object;its economic value.One pen may be worth three pencils;and one refrigerator may be worth the salary earned by three months of work.

The third is the symbolic value of an object;a value that a subject assigns to an object in relation to another subject.A pen might symbolize a student’s school graduation gift or a commencement speaker's gift;or a diamond may be a symbol of publicly declared marital love.

The last is the sign value of an object;its value within a system of objects.A particular pen may,while having no added functional benefit,signify prestige relative to another pen;a diamond ring may have no function at all,but may suggest particular social values,such as taste or class.

Baudrillard’s earlier books were attempts to argue that the first two of these values are not simply associated,but are disrupted by the third and,particularly,the fourth.But the focus on the difference between sign value (which relates to commodity exchange)and symbolic value(which relates to Maussian gift exchange)remained in his work up until his death.Indeed it came to play a more and more important role,particularly in his writings on world events.

2 Fan Symbolic Consumption by Undergraduate

Consuming has becoming an important method to achieve“Self Expression” and “Social Identity”.Fan consumption could help them to gain group identity and self acceptance by consuming a common kind of goods as their idolatry.To some extent,it would be beneficial for them to gain confidence or to pursue for career like their idol.However,the combined power of advertising and entertainment idol has become a major factor contributing to juvenile blind impulse consumption.For example,there are massive movie stars or idols or sports stars among those goods advertisements relying on young people as the main consumers such as casual clothing,sports shoes and a new mobile phone and so on,which have appealed adolescent consumption and provoked their nerves and senses in a way of dynamic images,a reference to the trend of youth culture and the life details.As a result,it has prompted them to make rapid decisions,and follow idol’s choice.The implication of star image,avant-garde fashion and luxury lifestyle symbolize the same meaning as the youth to pursue personality,fashion and the middle-class lifestyle.Those young undergraduates tend to share these symbolic significance,so they must consume and then possess the idol commodity itself which is regarded as the carrier of symbolic significance.For example,Jay Chou loves peaked cap,plays street basketball,and sings the popular RNB music.He behaves so cool and offbeat,and the avant-garde image is the style those contemporary young people pursue in order to highlight the unique style and special taste.

The extreme emphasis on the individual consumption has also become another phenomenon influenced by idolatry economy.When they are consuming,what counts is whether the goods could express themselves best or not.In their eyes,what kind of goods “I” buy means what kind of person “I” would be.It could show and distinguish me myself.One of the paradoxes of the consumer society is that this kind of personalized consumption will quickly become a trend of fashion,and then so many of young college students will rush to purchase the same types of"personalized"products at the same time.Finally,a new round of consumption come into being.This kind of interaction of“personality”and “fashion” is just a big secret in consumer society.That is to say,the pursuit of individuality like “My site,I call the shots” eventually become the fashion or popularity in which everyone crowded in the same block“site”.

As a new generation,those college students consume rather than survival conditions.More and more are paying attention to behave selfvalue.They desire a new consumption image and wish to show self mature;they hope to present the vitality of youth,ability and value of self through the consumption of avant-garde fashion.It is a promise to achieve performance,to show off themselves for a certain social symbol,a sort of social status,life style,quality of life or a social identity.From the long-term run,this trend will bring about a series of problems,which not only increase the financial burden of parents,influence the feelings of parents and students,for the construction of family ethics will have negative consequences to some extent;it will also distort the campus interpersonal relationship,increasing the school education management difficulties,affecting the normal teaching order.

3 Conclusion

This common impulse of symbolic consumption among young college students fans result from two aspects:psychological and cultural.On the one hand,they have a strong desire to get the group identity and social affirmation,on the other hand,they have a strong need to show their uniqueness,to behave a distinguished voice out of the ordinary.At the same time,most of them are not entirely clear of how to shape their own brand image,so under the guidance of consumer culture,they develop a easy way of consuming commodity.Otherwise,they will lose face.Therefore,educators should pay attention to develop adolescent personality and ability,to guide them toward a comprehensive understanding of self,and the cultivation of personality.It is a kind of positive behavior to pursue Youth individuality and uniqueness,but it is not possible to achieve a person’s true personality only through the “packaging”.Personality is a kind of ability rather than symbols and it is thought,interest,attitude,or outlook on life;it is the inner aspect of natural results.And the blind pursuit of external dress or symbol can cause a false personality “label”,and ultimately hurt real personality.Anyway,it is essential to treat idolatry economy correctly and positively.

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